Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Possibly, but irrelevant. I think he is addressing male and female feminists - women who don't think their voices are heard and men who've already had some sort of come-to-Jesus moment regarding "privilege".

To me - not exactly anti-feminist but certainly anti-a lot of people who call themselves feminists, it comes across as a load of smarmy, self-congratulatory, intolerant not-even-wrong rhetoric and I suspect that I it was his intention to convince others like me, he would have written in a different register.

edit: eliminated a renegade apostrophe




It's also possible that your perspective on feminist issues is distorted enough that while you're interpreting this as smarmy and self-congratulatory, it is in fact reasonable and well-argued. Right? That sort of argument by its nature swings both ways.

Clearly a lot of people here find something worthwhile in how Scalzi writes about this, and some of the literally hundreds of commenters on that blog post are at least finding it worth discussing. Perhaps you'll get something out of them, if not out of Mr. Scalzi's post itself. I do hope so, because from where I'm sitting you're the one being intolerant and not even wrong, and I'd love if this could at least make you pause and reconsider your perspective.


>It's also possible that your perspective on feminist issues is distorted enough that while you're interpreting this as smarmy and self-congratulatory, it is in fact reasonable and well-argued. Right?

It's always possible, but that's precisely the problem with false-consciousness arguments presented without substantiation: it's always possible.

For example some people might see the habitual accusation of distorted perspective as the nervous thought stopper of an ideologue faced with contrary experience.

> Perhaps you'll get something out of them, if not out of Mr. Scalzi's post itself. I do hope so, because from where I'm sitting you're the one being intolerant and not even wrong,

Do you really think that or is it just a thematically convenient inversion?

> I'd love if this could at least make you pause and reconsider your perspective.

I hereby coin the term 'fem-splaining' to label this sort of concerned exhortation towards self-reflection so honest you'll realise you were wrong all along. It's not bad advice in general but in the context of an argument on the internet, difficult to accept as good faith (I'm not accusing you of acting in bad faith here)

edit: improved flow




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: