Hal Niedzviecki called bullshit on cultural appropriation. It didn’t go well for him.
Hal Niedzviecki, editor of Write — a publication for the union’s members — published an opinion piece in the spring 2017 issue titled “Writer’s Prompt.” In the article, in an issue dedicated to indigenous writing, Niedzviecki wrote: “In my opinion, anyone, anywhere, should be encouraged to imagine other peoples, other cultures, other identities.
“I’d go so far as to say there should even be an award for doing so — the Appropriation Prize for best book by an author who writes about people who aren’t even remotely like her or him.”
He didn’t wear a sombrero while writing it, or get soused on margaritas. He just challenged cultural appropriation. After all, if you seize someone else’s culture, then there won’t be enough for them.
A sociological term, cultural appropriation is used to describe the adoption of elements or practices of one cultural group by members of another.
On Wednesday, the Writer’s Union of Canada issued an apology for the piece, announcing Niedzviecki’s resignation and pledging to review the magazine’s policies.
“The Writer’s Prompt piece offended and hurt readers, contributors to the magazine and members of the editorial board,” said the statement. “We apologize unequivocally. We are in the process of contacting all contributors individually.
Can you imagine, writing something that “offended and hurt readers”? It’s almost as if it made readers think. Or at least, think hard enough to find a reason to be offended.
Social media backlash against the piece began Tuesday from Write contributors and members of the Writer’s Union. Alicia Elliott, an indigenous Tuscarora author of a piece published in the same issue, tweeted out photos of Niedzviecki’s op-ed and said she was happy to receive her copy of the magazine “until I saw this.”
“It felt like an intimate betrayal,” she said. Niedzvieki had edited her own piece about cultural appropriation, which Elliott said made it “especially hurtful.”
There is nothing so hurtful as an “intimate betrayal.” Particularly from someone who was marginalized by having their piece published in the same issue. It’s as if he raped her writing.
H/T Stephanie West Allen
Discover more from Simple Justice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
What are you supposed to do if you’re a white male het cis middle-class writer of fiction? Write nothing but characters, settings, and plots that involve people like you, doing things that match your lived experiences… and get attacked for your stories not being sufficiently diverse… or try to get out of your comfort zone and include characters and cultures outside your own experience (hopefully doing some homework about them so it’s not done totally ineptly), and be attacked for cultural appropriation?
You are supposed to fetch paper for indigenous writers, which would be obvious if you weren’t such a shitlord.
You write for Baen Books and make bank.
Green Day reference in the title?
I’ve always liked Green Day, but the culture in Berkeley is extremely dissimilar to that of Tennessee where I grew up. Am I a Cultural Appropriator? What are the rules here?
You used their song as the basis for your title – perhaps some penance on your part is required…….
So you didn’t watch the vid at the end? Now I haz sad.
No, I saw it was Weird Al and just kind of skipped over it. My bad. On a positive note I figured it out myself from your title, so you did get your point across.
By hurting your feelings I’ve invalidated your marginalized existence, haven’t I? Damn. In my defense, I went to college so long ago that Diversity Training wasn’t available, so we had to figure it out on the fly.
Your vicious pointed words stab me in the heart like hegemonic discursive violence.
I’d offer you a shield, but it appears to have the crest of some indigenous people on it. Probably better that you die… to be on the safe side.
Rookie mistake by Niedzviecki. He should have self-identified as an indigenous individual for purpose of the post and therefore been shielded from such criticism.
He’ll (or possible she’ll) learn for next time.
Seems like such an obvious solution, right?
Would that claim make him trans-indigenous?
(You heard it here first.)
I wonder if Alicia’s piece was written in Tuscaroran, if not I would be offended and hurt that she appropriated the English language.
You’re very sensitive.
As a person of Irish heritage, I really don’t mind non-Irish folks drinking green beer and wearing “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” buttons on St. Patrick’s Day. They can eat Lucky Charms. Heck, they can go all Rachel Dolezal and dye their hair red. On the other hand, holding a grudge is historically recognized as an element of Irish culture. Ms. Elliot’s cultural appropriation of the grudge hurts and offends me deeply. I demand retribution!
This is why I refuse to hold a grudge. I am culturally sensitive of the Irish.
Shucks, I was hoping for a good fight.
I never liked Lucky Charms, if that helps.
It is particularly offensive that once again that you are picking on those people who are known as the Fighting Irish and characterized by that especially offensive “pugilistic leprechaun logo”. I thought I was having an attack of Irish Alzheimer’s (to forget everything but the grudge) luckily I remembered a little bit of this from an earlier post related to the “Redskins” (Washington).
Oh and I’ve checked and don’t see a trademark for “Pugilistic Leprechaun™”.
Even if nobody had been offended The Writer’s Union of Canada would still had apologized and contacted every citizen of Canada to apologize for making a big deal of their apology.
Fun fact. If you have a group of writers and wish to find out which is Canadian, step on everyone’s foot and whoever apologizes in the Canadian
Hey, if anybody is going to make lame Canadian jokes around here, it’s me.
Alternatively, given how many Irish people posted in here, you could make lame Irish jokes and see if it brings the Canadians out of the woodwork.
They would just apologize to the Irish. It would be disgusting.
I see what you did there. And you meant “mobility-impaired” Canadian jokes. Otherwise, I shall have to write a sternly worded complaint, with only one apology.
Impaired? Quel outrage! Try mobility non-conforming, hoser.
“It’s as if he raped her writing.” He’s an editor (or at least he was); of course he did. That’s an editor’s job. Ask any professional writer. (Or any teacher grading papers.)