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I keep seeing people say "But you *used* to say we could write PoC MCs as long as we weren& #39;t co-opting stories *about* being PoC???"
And yes, we did. Because y& #39;all insisted you needed to so we tried to believe y& #39;all could do it well. Now we know you can& #39;t. We learned. Your turn.
And yes, we did. Because y& #39;all insisted you needed to so we tried to believe y& #39;all could do it well. Now we know you can& #39;t. We learned. Your turn.
I know y& #39;all are gonna be upset this wasn& #39;t said "nicely" so let me explain. I did sensitivity reads for 2 years. I& #39;ve never read a well-done PoC POV by a white person.
Never. Not once. Why? Because y& #39;all don& #39;t *get* us. You don& #39;t know how to write us without co-opting our pain.
Never. Not once. Why? Because y& #39;all don& #39;t *get* us. You don& #39;t know how to write us without co-opting our pain.
"Then teach us!" I wish I could, but I can& #39;t! And frankly, I shouldn& #39;t have to. Why do y& #39;all need to write stories *we* aren& #39;t allowed to write either?
Because publishing still bars us from writing our stories. You know that, right? And it& #39;s bc they& #39;d rather let y& #39;all do it.
Because publishing still bars us from writing our stories. You know that, right? And it& #39;s bc they& #39;d rather let y& #39;all do it.
But here& #39;s the thing: when we say "stop writing our stories" what we mean is, "you& #39;re going to get chances before we do, so please stop taking our only shot."
Bc we don& #39;t get to write white books. We don& #39;t. We only get to write our stories of pain & we only *now* get to.
Bc we don& #39;t get to write white books. We don& #39;t. We only get to write our stories of pain & we only *now* get to.
We& #39;re only *now* getting to write our stories bc pub is finally seeing that we write them better, and even then, y& #39;all still put out more books about us then we do.
So we can& #39;t stop you from writing our stories, but we *can* give you advice, which is what we& #39;re doing now.
So we can& #39;t stop you from writing our stories, but we *can* give you advice, which is what we& #39;re doing now.
Y& #39;all can do your "research", but you will *never* write us better than we do. You won& #39;t. And when your book is embarassingly racist, we& #39;ll call it out.
We tried to help y& #39;all, but you didn& #39;t want to hear us, so now you wrote a bad book and we& #39;re gonna call it that.
We tried to help y& #39;all, but you didn& #39;t want to hear us, so now you wrote a bad book and we& #39;re gonna call it that.
Because no hours of googling will teach you what life is like for the people you silence. If you want to know, let *us* tell our stories.
*Read* those stories. And one day, once you& #39;ve read enough, you may start to understand the way we understand whiteness.
*Read* those stories. And one day, once you& #39;ve read enough, you may start to understand the way we understand whiteness.
But darling, we ain& #39;t there yet. That world doesn& #39;t exist. You don& #39;t have the access or bandwidth to understand & write us. You& #39;ve proven that.
So take a breather & let us give you that access by giving us the space we need to write. Then we can all share each other& #39;s stories.
So take a breather & let us give you that access by giving us the space we need to write. Then we can all share each other& #39;s stories.
And when publishing is actually fair and equal, you& #39;ll know how to write PoC without "research" bc we won& #39;t be silenced.
When the time comes, we& #39;ll be so commonplace that writing us won& #39;t be something you have to learn. Because we& #39;ll all be equal. We& #39;ll be present everywhere.
When the time comes, we& #39;ll be so commonplace that writing us won& #39;t be something you have to learn. Because we& #39;ll all be equal. We& #39;ll be present everywhere.
But until that day, you& #39;re just setting us back. You& #39;re just adding to the misinformation that makes more people write us wrong.
Because you won& #39;t write us right, and sensitivity readers can& #39;t save you. Let us pave the way *for once*. Accept that it& #39;s better for you to follow.
Because you won& #39;t write us right, and sensitivity readers can& #39;t save you. Let us pave the way *for once*. Accept that it& #39;s better for you to follow.
