neadods: (Default)
neadods ([personal profile] neadods) wrote2011-11-13 08:44 am

(no subject)

I have the racism and Doctor Who essay written out longhand ready for type up, and it's just so fucking depressing that I'm really wondering if being part of this project is worth the toll on me. Is this cosmically worth it? Would anyone learn or change their minds?
ext_8892: (Changed)

[identity profile] beledibabe.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 02:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Would anyone learn or change their minds?

I don't know, but you will have spoken out, which as we've seen from recent examples is critical. Silence, for whatever reason, implies consent.

[identity profile] tamnonlinear.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 02:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I think that worrying that it won't be worth saying unless it changes someone's mind is the wrong goal; people change their own minds. Speaking out just gives them a better data set for reaching their own conclusions, and that is very much worth doing. Do what you can. If nothing else, I'd like to read it.

You've already made a difference- I've been rewatching New Who recently, and with a much more critical eye, after some of the things you've pointed out. I'd like to know more.
mtgat: (River: No Power in the Verse)

[personal profile] mtgat 2011-11-13 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
The original posts you made helped me put words around the things that had been bothering me for a while. People get better one by one.
ext_3965: (Duo of Awesome Martha & Mickey)

[identity profile] persiflage-1.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Saying nothing definitely won't help anyone to learn or change their minds.

Probably

[identity profile] tacnukesoul.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 04:40 pm (UTC)(link)
While the ability to be swayed by argument is much in doubt, a well reasoned, sourced argument, will be a help to someone. While the odds are long, the only way to succeed is to play.

Also, those of a mind to be illuminated might use it was the first step in a reassessment.

Even planting a flag and showing that there are other viewpoints might afflict the comfortable - rarely a bad thing.

[identity profile] dameruth.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 05:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I would say it's always *cosmically* worth it to do things that are unpleasant but valuable. Only individuals, though, can decide if the personal cost is something they can stand to pay.

It sounds like you're through the worst of it, writing-wise, and I think it's worth remembering that, if people aren't given the materials/information/viewpoints they need to learn or change their minds, they never will -- but sometimes a word or thought *can* strike someone the right way to change their lives. You can never say it *will* do so, but at least you've opened the doorway . . .
ext_43: proust quote: let us be happy to those that make us happy.  They are the constant gardners that make our souls blossom. (Being Human - Mitchell & Annie)

[identity profile] drho.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 05:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Being a part of that project is not worth a personal toll on you. You're more important than the book.

Also, no amount of information will persuade someone who doesn't care about changing their behavior and there are other resources for anyone who does. Don't put pressure on yourself to redeem or convince anyone.
Edited 2011-11-13 17:47 (UTC)
ext_6531: (DW: River (crouched))

[identity profile] lizbee.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I think it would make my world, personally, a better place if there were people other than the usual suspect publishing about race in DW.

[identity profile] redpanda13.livejournal.com 2011-11-13 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm imagining people reading your words and saying, "Wow, I never looked at it that way, but she's right-- this is wrong and it ought to be changed."

And even, "Maybe I should look at some other things differently too...."

[identity profile] chelseagirl.livejournal.com 2011-11-14 11:01 am (UTC)(link)
Well, I'd been looking forward to reading it and have been thinking it sounded like a valuable contribution.

If there's anything I can do from my end as a person who writes much more on the academic end of the spectrum, just ask.

[identity profile] starmalachite.livejournal.com 2011-11-15 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Late to the party, but FWIW, you will at least have "documented the atrocities." That alone can make a difference in the long run. Mapping the swamp certainly earns you a rest before attempting to drain it, at the very least. And if someone else volunteers in the meantime, that's another person on your team.