Okay, if you don't know RaceFail '09, then this won't make much sense to you. I have several different groups of friends, family, and acquaintances who read this journal, so I'm going to steal a list of links from splash_the_cat and suggest that if the rest of this entry doesn't make sense to you and you really want to know, you can follow these links.

"Timeline of many of the earlier events:
http://seeking-avalon.blogspot.com/2009/01/timeline.html

Summaries of more recent events:
http://snacky.livejournal.com/560654.html?thread=5172494#t5172494

http://rydra-wong.livejournal.com/155427.html

rydra_wong has been keeping a very extensive archive of posts at this tag, if you're looking for primary sources: http://rydra-wong.livejournal.com/tag/gcadod+09

Done quoting Splash.

Here's the latest thing.

jimhines posts a thoughtful entry that says some things that need to be said. Like:

"And as far as I can tell, the only people saying 'White authors aren't allowed to write about non-white characters' are the white authors. And most of the time, 'not allowed' seems to mean 'people might say mean things'.

"Seriously. Get over it."

The first half of the entry asks, "What's this conversation really about?" which I read as a rhetorical device, because Jim then goes on to explain what he thinks it's about. He says he's not very widely read in it, but he seems to be getting the gist of it just fine. And he says that he notices there's a fair bit of punishment for hurting people's feelings. (Supporting quote: "It seems like there are two different conversations going on. One is (or was) a discussion of race. The other is a discussion of my hurt feelings and what I'm going to do to punish you for hurting my feelings (because of course it's all about me)."

Which--pardon me if I'm incorrect here--I did not take to be directed at one "side" or another, precisely, but frankly, all the examples of it he cited in the subsequent text were hurt white folks who didn't like being called on their privilege nor on their cultural appropriations. (Supporting quote: "And as far as I can tell, the only people saying "White authors aren't allowed to write about non-white characters" are the white authors. And most of the time, "not allowed" seems to mean 'people might say mean things'.")

Which is why I squinched up my eyes real tight to try and stop my brain from dribbling out my tear ducts when I read several comments from--as far as I know, but I'm pretty sure--white folks, pleading with Jim to take down the post, and complimenting him on his bravery. In a way that I can only construe as "before those scaaaary black people find you!" (Or, slightly less combatively interpreted, "Before those anti-racists deliberately misunderstand you and come over to make you cry.")

I have rolled around in white privilege all of my life. The stink of it smells like home to me, and because of the times when I realized what I smell like to the people who don't possess it have been mortifying, embarrassing, humiliating, and even devastating to me, I do my best to keep my arms down in public.

I've blundered around with that stink a lot. So it is possible I have blundered in my interpretation of Jim's post. I figure, either I misinterpreted Jim's post, or they did.

But I do not think I misinterpreted what was said in the comments.