My Response
Sent out this morning:
I am dismayed and disgusted by these charges of racism sent out via email *to* people and *from* people I've never met. Not one person contacted me personally for clarification or understanding. Instead, I am subject to unfair and false accusations from strangers. Personal attacks that are nothing but lies and innuendo.
Ann Coulter would be so proud.
I've written over a thousand posts dedicated to human rights, justice, and equal rights for all - and this is the reaction I get from local leaders about one item with which you disagree?
You should at least have the decency, while smearing my name among an entire community, to forward my entire record on similar matters.
Or even just a sample.
An article I wrote for a Florida paper about ethnic pride.
Or how about this?
Perhaps this should have been promoted - including my comments.
I have received death threats, hate mail, and scorn from real racists who attack me for defending these issues. Now I am dealing with the same kinds of nonsense from *my own party*? I cannot believe that you all are willing to isolate an activist who shouts from the rooftops for progressive ideals. Pushing me to leave this movement because my humor is offensive.
Humor is subjective, people. If you can't tell the difference between sarcastic wit and malicious racism, I can't help you.
I write only to vent, encourage positive change, and make people laugh.
If you think you can win votes by lecturing or alienating those who share your views because they laugh out loud at everyone - well, I got one question in a Republican stronghold like The Springs:
How's that workin' for you so far?
posted by kate @ 8:11 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
If you are offended by Kate's blog, do NOT visit http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html and do NOT read "A Modest Proposal" written by Jonathan Swift in 1729.
In "A Modest Proposal," Swift suggested that poor Irish families eat their own children to keep from starving and to avoid being burdens on society.
How horrible and shocking!! It's just as upsetting now as it was in 11th grade when my English class studied Swift.
The website www.swiftsociety.com uses some big words I don't understand:
"political and social commentary"
"satire"
Really complicated and hard to understand, that Swift. And then there's this quote from him:
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
Can someone look up "satire" in the dictionary and enlighten us all? I'm too scared to look for myself.
I wasn't there at the Dem meeting, so I can't speak to that. I can say, (write) however, that you are messing with the wrong girl here. There is no one I know (or a lot of people know) who is more annoyingly FOR the underdog, the litte guy, the minority, who is more roll-your-eyes Liberal than KDR. Believe it.
If you are offended by Kate's blog, do NOT visit http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html and do NOT read "A Modest Proposal" written by Jonathan Swift in 1729.
First off, and I say this as nicely as possible, all attempts at humor or irony in the vast blogosphere cannot be defended by simply pointing to Jonathan Swift and going "See, I'm only doing what he did first!" And I only say that because I've seen that in several places as defenses of hyperbolic blogging that inevitably gets blogger in trouble. Usually it's on the right, but the "Jon Swift" defense is applicable to both sides.
Secondly, while I don't think you're a racist, your attempt at humor was poorly executed. You just have to be careful when you say things like "The Mexicans had Mexicans on the brain" because you know, probably not every Mexican there had that attitude, and probably not every Hispanic person there was a Mexican. You actually could've written a whole post about how irritated you were about the tone of the meeting that would have come off as way better if you maybe weren't trying to be so...well, clever about it.
And lastly, your part about standing up and thanking the official for his service just makes you sound like an old woman with an "America: Love it or leave it" sign in your front yard.
Anyway, as one fellow blogger to another, I'd just advise you to be careful about how you throw stereotypes and whatnot around. Also, I recommend against follow-up posts where you toot your own horn about how much you've defended the "little guy" in other posts; it just sounds like a little too much protesting.
Honestly, I really do like your blog overall. It's just easy for all of us to go a little overboard sometimes when we're sitting at the computer.
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