If you really wanted to change things, if you really wanted to get rid of sexism, you'd tamp down on rage and get into constructive discussions
Now that I find a bit unfair as statements go. Constructive discussions? Doesn't always go anywhere. And if you've tried to have them for a very long time, at some point frustrations just kick in. I don't think rage is about a lack of want to change things. (And every now and then I think the fierceness of a reaction can tell people something about how unacceptable it is.)
I mean, I agree in general that you should try as much as you can to keep it on a reasonable level. I try to live by that myself - even on the issue of rape, I try to explain why certain attitudes about it are so not right, but it can be really hard to keep enough emotional distance to be reasonable about it. We're emotional as a species and first responses tend to be the emotional ones. The more reasonable discussions often come after, when people have gotten a little bit of distance.
And as I said elsewhere, I think that secret got the reaction it did because it sums up a certain trend in fandom which does get spread around, and painfully so.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
Re: this is probably not the usual response
Date: 2009-04-28 10:30 am (UTC)Now that I find a bit unfair as statements go. Constructive discussions? Doesn't always go anywhere. And if you've tried to have them for a very long time, at some point frustrations just kick in. I don't think rage is about a lack of want to change things. (And every now and then I think the fierceness of a reaction can tell people something about how unacceptable it is.)
I mean, I agree in general that you should try as much as you can to keep it on a reasonable level. I try to live by that myself - even on the issue of rape, I try to explain why certain attitudes about it are so not right, but it can be really hard to keep enough emotional distance to be reasonable about it. We're emotional as a species and first responses tend to be the emotional ones. The more reasonable discussions often come after, when people have gotten a little bit of distance.
And as I said elsewhere, I think that secret got the reaction it did because it sums up a certain trend in fandom which does get spread around, and painfully so.