Hi Pierce,
Thanks for reading, and responding. Generally, I don’t respond to comments unless readers are replying to a call-out or having fun. The internet isn’t really designed for debate so the best I can do is just write my truth and that’s that. It’s not really my responsibility to change your heart or persuade you all I can do is just share my thoughts.
Did you click the link in that sentence about hate? It will lead to another essay that you probably won’t agree with which is 100% okay. I mean, Pierce, I think you may not be open to certain histories. The mass executions during the French Revolution? The nightmarish lynchings of the Jim Crow South? The Fascist rallies of the 1930s? These were events full of applause and hooting and concessions. I mean, what do you think white America’s reaction to minstrel shows was? Do you think millions of white people politely nodded during the decades that blackface was a blockbuster form of entertainment? No. They laughed. Mockery is a pillar of prejudice.
You may be surprised to learn I have read many replies over the years exclusively from men who look like me, most older or younger, throwing the word “nuance” around but, like, it’s nuance for me, no thee, right? All of this quibbling about the shooter's motivations by police and, again, mostly white dudes really feels like a coping mechanism, not an argument.
I get annoyed that I feel forced into playing really basic empathy thought games with some readers because I know you know the truth, especially if you apply compassion and empathy. Look, if you’re an Asian-American man in Atlanta right now there is no way you’re not looking over your shoulder. There’s just no way you’re not angry and, most of all, terrified because a few days ago American who looks like you were clearly targeted. Again, it’s frustrating to have to do this work for you but you’d be scared. Any answer to the contrary is an attempt to win a debate and as I have written, there is no winning.
I don’t care what you think, or what the police say the shooter said, there is no reality where race is not part of the facts of the atrocity. It is evident. I’m also careful not to blame all white dudes, either, but to readers like you, I’m afraid, any white man questioning his place is heresy.
It is unfortunate that you’d like my reviews but not my other thoughts and feelings about important issues. Humungus is full of stuff like this, my opinions on art and my opinions on life are one and the same. There’s also some incredibly silly stuff. Good news, though, I think we’ll both learn to live without each other Pierce.
All my best.