Mercedes Lackey Ejected From Nebula Conference For Using Racial Slur

[John R Davis]

I wonder if the 80 year recepient was offended, or others were befended on their behalf?

I'm from the UK and the C always confuses me? POC is ok but C isn't?

 

[The Myopic Sniper]

The writer she referred to, Samuel Delany, has responded on Facebook. If the forum moderators have an issue with the language feel free to edit or delete it.

""Colored ladies," was what my aunts Bessie and Sadie referred to themselves as, and I favored "black"(with a small B, because because of my experiences in '68, with the activists who changed the country from "Negro" to Dr. Du Bois's preferred term). Among colored or black or Negro folks he had no problem—since scientifically there is no such thing as race, the terms are all social constructs. With all due respect for anyone over 60, there are no "bad words;" it depends alone on the vernacular you were brought up with. (Prescriptive usage and grammar starts out as a lost cause.) I would like to see institutions leave their hands off the spoken language of their elders. At 8 years my junior, and a native of a city I am very fond of, Mercedes Lackey has my permission to speak of me in any way she chooses. "Person of color" is just awkward (so I wouldn't use it myself); my paternal grandfather was born a slave, and there were white mongrels and Native Americans scattered throughout; "colored" has no negative connotations among any speakers black or white in my family and never had.”"

 

[John R Davis]

80 years of wisdom right there.

 

[Hussar]

Look, I'm about as liberal as it comes. I wear my social justice warrior badge with pride. But even I think that's going WAYYY too far. That's overkill right there.

 

[Tonguez]

Wait Colored is a slur but People of Color is okay?
I’m brown btw and think PoC is a stupid term, but I didnt know colored had been escalated from outdated to actual slur…

 

[Zardnaar]

Want the word I expected. Only read one of her books Elvenbane iirc.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It’s terminology that’s on the cusp. It does have a history as a mild slur* that was also used non-pejoratively within the community, but it isn’t an unequivocally racist term. I would personally NOT like it tossed in my direction, and it’s use is gradually sliding out of favor in polite circles. And that decline has been ongoing for many decades.

Ms. Lackey should probably apologize, especially if she can reasonably claim she was unaware of its history or can claim it’s terminology that she’s tried to excise from her own vocabulary after growing up with it. (Or some such.)






* it was the go-to word when stronger slurs would have been considered a breach of etiquette or to give bigots plausible deniability on their hate.

 

[Zardnaar]

It’s terminology that’s on the cusp. It does have a history as a mild slur* that was also used non-pejoratively within the community, but it isn’t an unequivocally racist term. I would personally NOT like it tossed in my direction, and it’s use is gradually sliding out of favor in polite circles. And that decline has been ongoing for many decades.

Ms. Lackey should probably apologize, especially if she can reasonably claim she was unaware of its history or can claim it’s terminology that she’s tried to excise from her own vocabulary after grow8ngnup with it. (Or some such.)






* it was the go-to word when stronger slurs would have been considered a breach of etiquette or to give bigots plausible deniability on their hate.

Don't here the term here outside of American stuff. It was probably that wild side song I first heard it.

I was expecting the N word that was in a child nursery rhyme here in the 80's seeing it used was probably the Blazing Saddles movie also in the 80's.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I was also expecting worse, since the action elicited was apparently so swift.

 

[delericho]

I'm from the UK and the C always confuses me? POC is ok but C isn't?

My understanding (which might of course be wrong) is that "coloured" implies something that was done to a person, while "person of colour" reflects inherent fact that it's an inherent trait. (Contrast with "enslaved person", which reflects the fact that that is something that was done to the person.)

As for the issue in question: given that the preferred terminology has changed at least twice within my lifetime, and given that the NAACP hasn't felt the need to change its name, I'd argue that making a mistake is forgivable. Assuming, of course, that it was a mistake, which will be confirmed by an apology forthcoming. (Although I must also acknowledge that I'd be arguing from a privileged position - I am not, after all, in the affected group.)