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Let's get controversial - "Cultural Appropriation", "Sensitivity Reading", & Censorship!

23/2/2017

1 Comment

 
If there's one thing guaranteed to get me on my soap box, it's censorship and freedom of speech and expression.  So today I am going to get controversial, and take on some politically correct sacred cows.  Oh, I do love slaying them!  And with a particularly blunt knife.

The subjects of "cultural appropriation" and "sensitivity reading" (or "cultural sensitivity") have come on my radar in recent months, and frankly have left me feeling very disquieted.  I thoroughly enjoyed a morning of coffee today with a fellow crime writer (and also ex-cop like me), who was visiting from interstate, and this very subject came up in relation to both our writing.  Hence, my nascent blog piece rose to the surface.
So let's look at the two concepts, related as they are, and both driven, in my opinion, by political correctness.

"Cultural appropriation", simply expressed, is where we, as writers, write from a different cultural perspective than our own.  The politically correct brigade, brought out marching hard, and very upset, following the address by Lionel Shriver at the 2016 Brisbane Writers' Festival (where she dared to challenge the current political correctness), assert that we, as writers, cannot write from any cultural perspective other than our own.  If we do, then we are "appropriating" the other culture, and that is unacceptable.  
What a pile of ordure!  If we, as writers, can't write whatever we feel and whatever we want to express, then what is the point of literature?
A person doesn't have to like what I write, and they don't have to agree with what I write, but in a liberal democracy I have a right to write whatever I write (fiction, anyway).  If people don't like it, they can give me that feedback - I'll meet them head on, not a problem.  They can go on social media and slag off my writing, if that's how they feel, having read it.  Again, I'll meet them head on.  Better still, they don't have to bother reading me at all.  Because there are plenty of people who do enjoy reading my work, and I actually write for them.  At the end of the day, we do live in a democracy (although it is slipping), and people are free to read, or not read, whatever they choose.  Just as I am free to write whatever I choose, whether it suits others' politically correct sensibilities or not.
In my Harry's World, I certainly have characters from different cultural groups to my own. I have them there to reflect the mixed culture we live in.  I treat them respectfully, where appropriate (given that some of them are bad characters), and I never pretend to be able to espouse life from their point of view.  However, they are there, and according to the politically correct brigade, I am engaging in "cultural appropriation".  Because I can't possibly write from the perspective of an African man or Jamaican woman (two of my characters, as an example).  I also have other female characters, so I really am pushing the boundaries, given I'm not female.
Now, nowhere in my writing do I pretend to be able to understand what life looks like from the perspective of an African man or Jamaican woman, or any other female.  But I have them as characters, and I have them saying and thinking things.  Why shouldn't I?  This is fiction - I'm a writer creating a world for my readers.
If we succumbed to the current political correctness, then I would only be able to write characters from my own cultural knowledge.
Brace yourselves!!!
I am a white, middle-aged, Anglo-Celtic, heterosexual, Australian male.  If I could only write from my cultural position, then all my characters would be like me!  Aaaaagh!  Run for the hills!!!
It might be all right for one scene down the pub with a bunch of middle-aged white Aussie blokes having a beer or sixteen.  But it would make for a really boring entire book.
I can't think of any good writer in history who has produced a work that doesn't encompass different cultural groups, be it from the perspective of gender, race, or otherwise.
To make that point, I'm going to mention Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.  This is one of the most wonderful and powerful sci-fi novels I have ever read.  But Bradbury writes, in part, from the perspective of the Martians.  Now, how could he know what it was like to be a Martian?  He couldn't, clearly; he imagined it, as a writer does.  The novel is in large part an allegory about colonialism, and it is brilliant in this aspect.  Could Bradbury relate directly to colonised people?  Ah, no.  He was a 20th century white American - they can't claim to be colonised.  So, using the argument bandied about by the politically correct brigade, Bradbury has engaged in "cultural appropriation" on a double level.

Let's talk briefly about "sensitivity reading" (or "cultural sensitivity"), as it relates directly to the above conversation.  And I will talk about this from the perspective of my own novel, Harry's World.   The concept of  "cultural sensitivity" means that we, as writers, should not write anything which might offend any particular group in our society.  There is a growing movement that suggests authors should get "sensitivity readers", from any particular social group they write about, to vet their draft work to iron out anything which is "insensitive".
Again, I won't be told what to write!
By way of example, I have a completely despicable character in Harry's World who is clearly and offensively racist.  I have deliberately created the character thus, as I want to highlight my disgust at racism.  And I do this through the despicable character.  Now, given the character's comments about black Africans (and West Indians), I would well imagine that many readers would find this character's comments to be offensive.  They are offensive; deliberately so.  This is one of the points of fiction writing - it's about making social comment.  Further, I write in detail about many characters influenced by the corruption I have seen in my professional life.  If there are corrupt government officials out there who are offended by what I have portrayed, then all the better.  Offence is not always a bad thing.
 
In summary, writing and literature is about free expression.  Any attempt to constrain this expression, even when dressed up as something supposedly respectable, constitutes a form of censorship.  And I never consider political correctness as respectable. Never, ever!  It is, in my view, actually censorship and totalitarianism by stealth.
Censorship is at all times, in all forms, and in all circumstances, utterly abhorrent.  Any thinking person in a democracy ought to be terrified by censorship.  Read (or re-read) Orwell's 1984 if you need reminding.
As authors, we have to be allowed to write whatever we feel.  If a reader doesn't like it, then fine, that's their right.  But they do not have any licence to impinge on my right as an author to say whatever I want to say.
Cheers,
ABP.





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WESTERN LIBERAL DEMOCRACY - A MOMENTOUS DAY - A NEW WORLD?

9/11/2016

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WTF?  Did that really just happen?  Probably not uncommon remarks across the Western world tonight (Australian time).
As we now absorb the fact that Donald Trump has won the election to become the 45th President of the United States, what should we take from this news?  Well, I'm an author and I'm interested in world affairs, not to mention freedom and democracy, so I can't help myself but comment.  I've been at home all day watching the process unfold in the U.S.  Yes, I should have been writing, but it was rather distracting and compelling.  And as an Australian, living under the comfort of the security guarantee provided by the U.S. since 1945, where America is going has to be of prime interest to me and my fellow Aussies. 

There is so much going on in my head right now - I'll try and limit it to a few salient points:
1.  Democracy, and the right to freely and genuinely vote, are very precious assets (not overly popular when you look at the world as a whole).  The U.S.A. has always been the beacon for these values.  Today, the American people exercised their democratic right to vote.  Their wishes through their votes must be respected.  Absolutely.
2.  I've never met Mr Trump, so I can't really comment objectively on him as a person.  Some of the things he has said, and some of the views he has espoused, really don't sit well with me.  I am hoping that the worst of these were campaign bluster, spewed out expediently in order to win votes (as awful as that is in what it says about some voters), and that in reality as President he behaves differently.  I hope...
3.  I also hope that he can, as he espoused in his victory speech, unify the American people.  I would love him to make America "great again", as long as that "great" is inclusive of ALL Americans, and it doesn't cause conflict elsewhere, and it has the value of freedom as the centrepiece.  This will depend on whether or not he was serious in all the objectionable things he said.  If it turns out that he was, then he hardly has a vision to treat all Americans with dignity and respect, and freedom will certainly suffer.
4.  Australia and many other countries have enjoyed the largesse of American military protection for decades.  This is likely to change, and we, as well as many others, may have to be prepared to pay substantially more towards our defence.
5.  But for those still going "WTF?"  Actually, we should not be at all surprised by today's result.  What we are seeing is the manifestation of popular disquiet that has been brewing for years.  In summary, and I stress this is my personal view, the political classes and our political establishments in our Western democracies have become so arrogant, so corrupt, so complacent, and so greedy for power, that very significant chunks of the population have been left voiceless and politically impotent.  And now those disenfranchised masses are speaking up.  We saw it today in the U.S., we saw in in the U.K. in the Brexit vote, we saw it in the resurgence of One Nation here in Australia, we are seeing reactionary political movements in various European countries, and we are going to be seeing it in other places as well in the near future.  And, we are not short of arrogant and complacent politicians in Australia, I assure you.
6.  The very fact that the political classes are shocked at Mr Trump's victory is overwhelming evidence in itself of their arrogance and disconnection from the people and their communities.  As the rich get richer, on the backs of the poor who are getting poorer, sooner or later something has to break.  History is littered with examples.
7.  Who knows how a Trump Presidency will work out.  But this is for sure; what we have seen is a major democratic country voting against the political establishment, against the complacency and corruption of the accepted political establishment, and for a change, hopefully for the better.  I really do hope they achieve this.  Again, I hope...
8.  But democracy???  We cannot take it for granted - it is a fragile and precious gem.  Our elected political leaders MUST learn to respect this, just as they must learn to respect that WE run the country, not them.  And that they are in their comfortable, well-paid, and perk-laden offices to SERVE us.  I am quite convinced that the majority of them have diligently learnt to forget what that word actually means.
9.  What do I want from my elected representatives?  I want ethics, honesty, humility, and competence.  What I want to eradicate are self-interest, party politics, spin, and all the bullshit.  Is it really too much to ask???
10.  Did I mention I hope?

Cheers to a free Australia!  And my very best wishes to our American cousins!
ABP


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Brexit - something literary to read - Derek Raymond's "A State of Denmark"

11/7/2016

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Picture
With Brexit being such a news item, and such an important historical event, I just had to highlight this incredible dystopian novel.
Derek Raymond was the pen name of Robin Cook, a British novelist who died in 1994.
I came upon this chilling gem by chance, having last year discovered Raymond's crime writing (I've previously mentioned him for that genre) for which he is known as the father of British noir. 
Dystopia is a literary genre that I've always loved to read, and I started with Orwell, as many of us did.  
A State of Denmark, written in 1964, in my view ranks up there with Orwell.  It is a brutally chilling depiction of an England removed from Europe and having slid into dictatorship.  Scotland has gone independent (a familiar theme there).  And so those who had seen what was coming and voiced opposition to the dictator on his ascent are pursued.  No spoilers from me, so I won't sat anything further about the storyline.  However, as a literary study of dictatorship through bureaucratic stealth, insidious in its routinism, it is simply stunning.
This is a must read.
ABP

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Australia - The Fourth Reich???

13/10/2015

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Today, 13 October 2015, is a day which should go down in infamy for us as Australians.  Yes, today is the start of the Orwellian metadata retention regime.  All our metadata records (phones, emails, social media, etc.) will be kept for 2 years and will be openly accessible to a whole range of law enforcement and security agencies without even a sniff of a warrant.  And without even a sniff of any suspected wrongdoing by us.
Just where the hell is this country going?  Or is hell the actual destination?
Think also of the proposed street operation in Melbourne (which was cancelled at the 11th hour) by this new Border Force agency back in August.  Since when has it been acceptable for random checking on masses of citizens in the streets?  And on the subject of the Border Force, I had the delight of seeing their new outfits recently at the airport as I came back into Australia.  A stunning all-over black (perhaps to make them look slim?).  Actually, it struck me more as a modern reincarnation of certain outfits in Germany in the 1930s.
And we all know how that ended.  A version of hell indeed.

This disgraceful assault on the civil liberties and privacy of law-abiding citizens was brought in by a Liberal government (clearly having forgotten what "liberal" means) with the complete connivance of the Labor opposition (clearly having forgotten what "opposition" means).  I applaud the efforts by the Greens and some cross bench Senators to oppose the legislation, but, of course, their voices were raised in vain.
I have no problem whatsoever with law enforcement agencies being given sufficient powers to do their jobs (after all, I spent years working in that arena), but what happened to warrants?  Yes, those little bits of paper which at least provide a level of judicial oversight over law enforcement using intrusive powers against citizens.  Exactly the sort of oversight there should be.  And I've yet to see any reasonable, cogent argument put before the people of Australia as to why the concept of warrants is suddenly unfashionable and unnecessary.  Perhaps the real reason is the desire of the government and opposition (who'll have their turn back in government sooner or later) to really embark upon totalitarian control of the citizenry.  Big Brother is truly here.  Let's just wait for the abuses of these new powers which are inevitably going to occur.  Why?  Well, notwithstanding the many honest and decent personnel in our law enforcement agencies, there are certainly also those who are far from honest.  And, with no judicial oversight, it will be open slather for abuse by those so inclined.

This is supposedly all part of our benevolent government's efforts to keep us safe (from terrorists, I think is the usual glib rationale).  I'm happy to have a level of protection, but at what cost?  Does that mean my civil liberties disappear?  If so, and a whole lot disappeared today, then what way of life are we left trying to protect?  The tragic irony here is that these sort of efforts to "protect" us actually diminish and restrict our very way of life - exactly what terrorists are seeking to achieve by their own awful methods.  As a society we rightly voice our revulsion at what terrorists do in their efforts to destroy civilised, democratic societies.  When our own government and opposition engage in efforts to destroy our liberties we apathetically suck it up.

The problem is, as the freedoms evaporate, it becomes too late to speak up, to protest, to regain our lost way of life.  Remember Germany in the 1930s.  And remember this day in Australia, 13 October 2015.  Perhaps each 13 October from now on we should mount a silent vigil to commemorate what we lost today.

ABP 





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