the problem with gerriwritinglog's failtastic post yesterday and the revelation she was using all the lovely people who were willing to answer her questions as story research
Why do you take her 'revelation' at face value?
I think it's far, far more likely that she realized that her postings were not doing her very much credit, and thought (rather stupidly) that she could get away unscathed by pretending it was all an experiment for the sake of writing research & she was just trying to provoke reactions, thank you so much for participating. I don't believe her version for a second: I think she was entirely sincere is everything she said up to the 'reveal'.
But give them something, for crying out loud!
The problem with this attitude, IMO, is it demands [any given person lacking (x) privilege] assume the person asking asinine questions is doing so in good faith and with true desire to learn.
From what I've gleaned from various comments, it isn't that questioners are actively playing games in the way gerriwritinglog is claiming she did (after all, even if you believe her, how many people could be that much of an asshat? Even on the Internet?). It's that the "framing education as Your Duty As A Minority" approach is itself a huge part of the problem.
The expectation that it's somebody else's duty to go through the basics for the sake of a clueless person's eduction is itself a manifestation of privilege. Not only is it offensive for the reasons you and the_xtina describe, and not only is it often less productive and more damaging to the educator's emotional health: but if you cater to it, in some sense you are enabling the problem — no matter how sincere the clueless person is about wanting to learn. You're letting the clueless person get away with using their privilege, instead of pointing it out.
Or least, that's what I've been getting from all the discussion. :-P
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the problem with gerriwritinglog's failtastic post yesterday and the revelation she was using all the lovely people who were willing to answer her questions as story research
Why do you take her 'revelation' at face value?
I think it's far, far more likely that she realized that her postings were not doing her very much credit, and thought (rather stupidly) that she could get away unscathed by pretending it was all an experiment for the sake of writing research & she was just trying to provoke reactions, thank you so much for participating. I don't believe her version for a second: I think she was entirely sincere is everything she said up to the 'reveal'.
But give them something, for crying out loud!
The problem with this attitude, IMO, is it demands [any given person lacking (x) privilege] assume the person asking asinine questions is doing so in good faith and with true desire to learn.
From what I've gleaned from various comments, it isn't that questioners are actively playing games in the way
The expectation that it's somebody else's duty to go through the basics for the sake of a clueless person's eduction is itself a manifestation of privilege. Not only is it offensive for the reasons you and
Or least, that's what I've been getting from all the discussion. :-P