Basically, I think whoever's the biggest turtle in the pond is going to do that.
Oh, definitely, I wasn't trying to say that it's an inherently American thing that nobody else has ever done or will ever do. Whoever it is that's on top is the one that needs to tread more lightly.
When I was in middle and high school, it was drummed into our heads that you don't say "England", you say "Great Britain".
But that's because people were referring to Great Britain but calling it England, right? (Which is something I still see.) Not that you shouldn't think of England, Scotland, Wales, and NI as separate entities within the UK?
part of Ireland is still officially part of England
(The UK, I think you mean.)
patience is something the social justice movement is very short on.
Yes, but I think that's part of where my frustration comes in. RH is considered a social justice activist online and has less than zero patience for this kind of thing (as evidenced by her OTT response to la_marquise_de), and a lot of people follow her lead. The online social justice movement doesn't have to be this way, it does it because the loudest people have insisted that there is only one way to respond and if you object to it, you're terrible. But there was nothing at all impatient about what la_marquise_de said, unless mentioning discomfort at all is considered impatient. She was very patient, and responded multiple times to try to explain why she was hurt without telling Valente she was a bad person or stupid or anything.
I'm not trying to say that everyone should know these things about the UK. But if someone does very, very gently point out to you that you're contributing to an ongoing problem re: their culture, one doesn't need to go into fits and insist that they've ruined it for one. (Or make bogus claims about anti-Americanism abroad.)
To be honest, and I don't mean this in a dismissive way (as it's kind of my fault for not giving enough background detail), I think that if you're not familiar with some of the personalities involved, it looks different. RH has been semi-famous within fandom even before she got involved with social justice for ranting and screaming at people. Since she did get involved, I've seen her take down whole communities intended for social justice purposes through her behavior. She has a long history of being dreadful to people who talk about oppression as anything other than white/non-white. And Valente has a long history of being the ultimate sensitive, misunderstood soul.
no subject
Oh, definitely, I wasn't trying to say that it's an inherently American thing that nobody else has ever done or will ever do. Whoever it is that's on top is the one that needs to tread more lightly.
When I was in middle and high school, it was drummed into our heads that you don't say "England", you say "Great Britain".
But that's because people were referring to Great Britain but calling it England, right? (Which is something I still see.) Not that you shouldn't think of England, Scotland, Wales, and NI as separate entities within the UK?
part of Ireland is still officially part of England
(The UK, I think you mean.)
patience is something the social justice movement is very short on.
Yes, but I think that's part of where my frustration comes in. RH is considered a social justice activist online and has less than zero patience for this kind of thing (as evidenced by her OTT response to la_marquise_de), and a lot of people follow her lead. The online social justice movement doesn't have to be this way, it does it because the loudest people have insisted that there is only one way to respond and if you object to it, you're terrible. But there was nothing at all impatient about what la_marquise_de said, unless mentioning discomfort at all is considered impatient. She was very patient, and responded multiple times to try to explain why she was hurt without telling Valente she was a bad person or stupid or anything.
I'm not trying to say that everyone should know these things about the UK. But if someone does very, very gently point out to you that you're contributing to an ongoing problem re: their culture, one doesn't need to go into fits and insist that they've ruined it for one. (Or make bogus claims about anti-Americanism abroad.)
To be honest, and I don't mean this in a dismissive way (as it's kind of my fault for not giving enough background detail), I think that if you're not familiar with some of the personalities involved, it looks different. RH has been semi-famous within fandom even before she got involved with social justice for ranting and screaming at people. Since she did get involved, I've seen her take down whole communities intended for social justice purposes through her behavior. She has a long history of being dreadful to people who talk about oppression as anything other than white/non-white. And Valente has a long history of being the ultimate sensitive, misunderstood soul.