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Originally posted by
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marialima at It’s not about winning or losing, it’s how you play the gameJohn Scalzi wrote an awesome post entitled: Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is.
I highly recommend you read it – including the 800 comments.
Scalzi’s post struck a strong chord in me (who, according to his game metaphor got the hardcore setting, thanks to being female, Latina, queer).
I find it fascinating and not a little disheartening to see the same old “stop blaming me”, “what am I supposed to do about it” comments from so many straight white males. As an adjunct to that, a lot of “but my life was anything but easy because [insert reason(s) here].
Dudes: you are missing the point by miles. I don’t know if my analogy will help, but here’s an attempt: (and all my points are based on US/Western Culture)
Imagine there’s a pile of cards in play for the game called Life.
The objective is how you play during your journey, not some vague “winning” of the game, since the final outcome is the same for everybody.
Each card represents points a person can play throughout their personal journey. Points can be translated into real world advantages (jobs, money, opportunities, etc.)
At birth, each person gets 1 card to play based on the fact that s/he lives.
If you’re white, you get a second card, if male, yet another. If you are heterosexual, you get another.
Based ONLY on these criteria, at the start of the game, straight white males already have the advantage in having more cards.
No, this doesn’t mean that their entire journey through Life will be easy, simple and without roadblocks, only that they get more cards to start with. Some folks will get extra cards along the way (for money, education, other aspects of Life that affect their journey). That’s a given.
What Scalzi was pointing out that, at the start, straight, white males have more cards to play. What they do with those cards and how many other cards they get are variable.
So, we’re not blaming you for this, it’s just a statement of fact. You (the straight white male) have more cards at the beginning. You can choose to use those cards to lord it over others, or you can choose to stop, think and be inclusive.
It’s up to you.
For those of you who asked “what do you want me to do?” – I will repeat Scalzi’s answer (from the comments) – What do you want to do? It’s not my call. I am not the captain of your underpants.
If you want to sincerely know what you can do to level the playing field, I suggest you start by increasing your awareness–of your surroundings, of the language you and your friends use (do you laugh at homophobic, racist jokes or do you stop them?), of anytime you can reach out a helping hand to someone who is not a straight white male. Small steps lead to bigger ones.
Some other thoughtful posts on the same topic:
(Please note, discuss as you wish, however, like Scalzi, I have the Crossbow of Courtesy primed & loaded…aka, don’t be a dick or I shall have to shoot down your comment.)
Originally posted at Maria Lima. You can comment here or there.
If someone else had been the first to die?
I have written an alternate ending to Feed, picking up at what was originally chapter twenty-five. It's called Fed, and I'm very pleased with it, in part because it shows that no, the original ending wasn't the worst possible outcome. This was.
Fed is kindly being hosted by Orbit, thus preventing me from becoming a blibbering mess in the week leading up to the release of Blackout, and for right now, you can download and read by liking the Facebook page they've set up specifically for this purpose. (It's getting a one-week Facebook exclusive for marketing purposes, and I surely would appreciate it if you went and hit the "like" button.) This is full of spoilers, so I recommend against reading it if you haven't read Feed.
Rise up while you can.
- Mood:
geeky - Music:Halestorm, "Freak Like Me."
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Yesterday, Spooky and I took the morning off and caught a painfully early matinée of Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. I honestly wasn't sure I'd like it. For many reasons, it could have been a train wreck. But I loved it. It's a delightful film. It's fun! Dark Shadows manages to balance camp and a cockeyed sort of earnestness in a way that far too few films do. Think Burton's own Edward Scissorhands (1990). Like that. The script and casting are both superb. The soundtrack and Danny Elfman's score are both wonderful, spot on (even if I can't get the Carpenter's out of my head today). The casting...okay, screw it. There's nothing I can think of offhand about this film that I didn't like, right down to the intentional continuity flaws. It won't break any box-office records. It might not even break even. But it's gonna be a great cult classic. I suspect the studio had no idea what to do with this film. It doesn't "fit" into any of the marketing folks' tidy little caskets. It's too busy being what it is, disregarding expectation. It's an homage, but it's also a parody possessed of an unexpected core of sincerity. I think lots of people take the original series far too serious, and miss its absurd, unavoidable campiness (which the cast never did). I'd say see it, but you might hate it, and then you'd blame me. But it's bow tie. Top to bottom, stem to stern. I will add that you ought recall the surviving cast members of the TV show were very pleased with the film, and that Kathryn and I are both fans of the original. Very nice that it was dedicated to the late Dan Curtis.
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A paltry ten days stand between me and -08, which pretty much blows my goddamn mind. Who'd have ever thought I'd live this long. Should have seen me in 1991, or 1996, or even as recently as 2010, and you never would have believed it. Anyway, it seems I shall. I've been trying, very hard, not to think about it, so have neglected to post the usual link to my Amazon wish list.
However, should it come down to gifting me with this or that distraction, or, instead, picking up a copy of The Drowning Girl: A Memoir or preordering a copy of Confessions of a Five-Chambered Heart, I'd prefer you buy one (or both) of those two books. It's a lazy and neglectful author who does not put her work ahead of birthday fripperies. And these two books have been woefully neglected, as I struggle with all the ins and outs of Alabaster: Wolves. However, if you're remarkably flush and desire to do both....
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I assume subscribers have received Sirenia Digest #77. I'd love to hear reactions to it (or 76, or 75...). It's a lot easier to keep this up every month if I hear thoughts on the stories. And it's best if they're posted here, not emailed. Let's stimulate discussion!
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Yesterday, after the movie, I came home and worked on this major revision of Alabaster: Wolves #5, and also went over cover copy (and rewrote a bit of said copy) for Blood Oranges, as Danielle, my bow-tie editor at Penguin has marketing nipping at her heels for copy on a book we've not even begun editing. Today, I have to sign signature sheets for Joshi's Black Wings II, which reprints my story "John Four," and proof the text for The Yellow Alphabet (the hardback chapbook that comes FREE with the limited of the aforementioned Confessions of a Five-Chambered Heart. Tomorrow, it's back to Alabaster: Wolves #5 (which I need to finish by Friday evening).
Last night, Spooky and I finished reading The Two Towers. I hope we can begin The Return of The King tonight. I'd forgotten what a fine chapter is "The Choices of Master Samwise."
And now...word mines!
Beastly,
Aunt Beast
- Location:Cirith Ungol
- Mood:
manic - Music:Keaton Henson, "Party Song"
- Tue, 18:02: Sitting outside. Breezy but pleasant. Some rain moving in. Ready for summer, me.
- Tue, 18:12: Gaby had her summer trim today. Five pounds of hair, at least. She looks like a plushy now.
- Wed, 11:34: Tonight's a balsamic moon. I feel like I should serve grilled veggies on the side or something.
http://www.mystgalaxy.com/event/lynn-fl
Hope to see you there! If you can't make it, call the store and reserve your signed copy. They ship! Internationally, too.
(I can also testify that winning is amazeballs best thing oh my sweet Great Pumpkin corn maze paradise wonderful. But that's probably true of winning most awards that you really, really want.)
If you are currently a member, either Attending or Supporting, of Chicon 7, you are eligible to vote for the Campbell Award, along with the Hugo Awards. If you're not a member, either Attending or Supporting, you can view the membership rates by clicking right here. A Supporting Membership comes with voting rights and the complete Hugo packet, and is only $50.
Because writers who are eligible for the Campbell are, by their very nature, relatively new writers, it's possible that you don't know anything about this year's candidates. Jim Hines has sensibly decided to help you with this little problem, and has conducted interviews with all five of this year's nominees. Go, read, and be enlightened!
We have a truly awesome class of Campbell nominees this year; any one of them is worthy of the tiara. Because remember, the Campbell is one of only two major genre awards that comes with a tiara (the other is the Tiptree).
In closing, I present the comic strip I drew to commemorate my own eligibility:
TESTIFY!
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:Repo, "We Invented This Opera Shit."
In early April, I went to talk to the doctor about depression, and walked out with a prescription for Zoloft.
It’s been an interesting month. One of the things that surprised me was how many people talked to me about their own experiences with depression, both on my blog post and in person. When I went to Penguicon, the depression post came up in conversation almost as frequently as my cover poses. Depression is far more common than I realized … which reinforced that I had made the right decision to blog about it.
Almost immediately after I left the doctor’s office last month, I started feeling a little better. Since it takes time for the meds to build up in your system, I ascribed that initial improvement to the fact that I was doing something about the problem instead of feeling stuck and hopeless.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the pills. I wasn’t convinced the meds would help — I wasn’t even entirely convinced that I was really depressed as opposed to just feeling stressed out — and even if it was, I wasn’t sure the dosage I was on would be enough. But damn if I haven’t noticed an improvement. I’ve been able to take things in stride that would have been far more upsetting a month ago, from the suicidal raccoon that busted up my headlight to schedule snafus with my wife and kids to the Great Flea Invasion at home to assorted work stuff.
It’s not all happiness and rainbow-farting unicorns yet. The other day, something knocked me back into that ugly/hopeless/fugitall morass, and it took about two days to pull myself out. But overall, I’m doing better.
I feel more like me.
This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced this. Back in 1998 when my pancreas took early retirement, the diabetes seriously messed me up before I got diagnosed and brought my blood sugar under control. I was, to put it bluntly, a cranky, miserable asshole. And it had snuck up on me over weeks or months, so slowly I hadn’t even noticed. When I finally got on insulin, I was amazed at how much better I felt, how much I had missed me, if that makes sense.
It happened when I lived in Nevada, too. Elko did not agree with me, and looking back, I was seriously depressed by the end of it, though I didn’t recognize it at the time. I quit my job and moved back to where I had friends and family, and just like in ’98, I found me again.
I missed me. And I’m a little disturbed that I seem to make a habit of losing myself…
I’ve kept an almost paranoid eye out for side effects. I noticed a little bit of dry mouth early on, but that might have been psychosomatic. I’ve heard people talk about antidepressants making them mentally fuzzy, which was probably my biggest fear. I don’t think that’s happened, but I’m not completely sure. I’m struggling with the sequel to Libriomancer, but I was struggling before I started the meds too. I think it’s just a pain-in-the-ass first draft, not a consequence of extra mental sluggishness on my part.
The current plan is to stay on the Zoloft for six months to a year, then reevaluate where I’m at. I’ve also got a list of possible referrals for counseling that I’m planning to follow up on. (I’ve been procrastinating, partly due to lack of time, and partly due to the lingering shame of needing help.)
I really dislike the idea of being dependent on pharmaceuticals for my happiness and mental/emotional well-being. Insulin for a messed-up pancreas? No problem. Medication for a messed-up brain? That’s harder to accept. But I’m even more scared about the idea of going off the pills and sliding back into the space I was in earlier this year. I’m hoping the counseling will help with this and give me some longer-term solutions.
For the moment though, things are pretty good. I’ve been able to enjoy more of my life than I was before. The good parts actually feel good, and the bad parts, while still present — damn fleas! — aren’t as overwhelming.
Score one for the happy pills.
Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.
Last night there was much celebrating involving chocolate cake.
Also, The Siren Depths is now up for preorder at Barnes and Noble and Amazon US, and they both have the preorder price now.
***
Links I have been meaning to post and got way behind on:
* N.K. Jemisin: Why There's No Tipjar
For as long as I’m traditionally published, I’m not planning to do a tipjar. I really appreciate the thought, but thing is — you are contributing by checking out books from the library. The more lends and reservations a library gets for a particular book, the more books that library will purchase. And if it gets checked out a lot, they might prominently display it somewhere, which will (hopefully) earn me more long-term readers.
You can also fill out a request card for your local public library, and ask that they get books they don't have yet.
* Black Gate: C.S.E. Cooney’s How to Flirt in Faerieland & Other Wild Rhymes On Sale
* Sense of Wonder: Interview with Verbena C.W., editor of Liu Cixin in English
* XOJane: CeCe McDonald, the Girl Who Lived (And Why There is No Justice for Transgender Women of Color)
* Cynthia Leitich Smith: Video: "Bookloose" by Dowell Middle School (McKinney, Texas) in support of continued funding for their school library. This was really cute.
* Salon: Whitewashing, a history From "Tiffany's" to "Khan," we look at Hollywood's illustrious tradition of casting white actors in non-white roles by Aasif Mandvi
* Air & Space Smithsonian: The Weird World of Folk Aviators With his whimsical sculptures, Gregory Bryant celebrates early ideas about winged flight.
* Kate Elliott: Guest Post: Decolonizing as an SF Writer By Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
As I write this, I am thinking of a young writer somewhere in the world who comes from a country just like mine. I write reflecting on the process of decolonization that I am going through as I consider history. This look back may be painful and I may have to face unhappy truths, but still it is important. I need to understand the source of the pain, to accept it, embrace it and find healing so I can reclaim what is mine and become the writer that I want to be.
Noticed a peculiar absence in the Force -- no Klausner yet, opinionating on POWERS. Is she ill?
- Tue, 16:25: RT @aliettedb: Ha ha ha, @scalzi on life as a video game http://t.co/u0pgTVqo (via @jspock)
- Wed, 08:06: RT @Radcliffe_Hart: National Flash Fiction Day: The Day Has Finally Arrived!! Get involved whereever you are! http://t.co/FOC6VO2f
- Wed, 09:21: I'm hoping the most difficult decision I have to make today is "brownie or cheesecake?" but I suspect it will be "what shall I write?"
- Wed, 10:18: Oh Twitter Hivemind, is there a way to block users who are promoted? I'm fed up with car and phone adverts popping up in my feed.
- Wed, 11:24: Glorious, glorious half day. Coffee shop, here I come. With my notebook. #willbewriting
Page Summary
- suricattus : It's not about winning or losing, its how you play the game [+0]
- seanan_mcguire : When will you rise...and when will you fall? [+60]
- greygirlbeast : "Useful as a bucket with no bottom." [+20]
- kristine_smith : My tweets [+0]
- otterdance : Casket of Souls Book Signing! [+3]
- seanan_mcguire : The 2012 Campbell Awards. [+15]
- jimhines : One Month on the Happy Pills (Depression) [+53]
- marthawells : News and Links [+0]
- jhetley : Gray (one in a continuing series) [+0]
- xanthalanari : My tweets [+0]
