I am not a zoo exhibit. I am not a zoo exhibit. I am not a zoo exhibit.

This is a follow-up on my locked entry from yesterday, which I am now making public. Whether you read or didn't read yesterday's entry, please read on. 

Recently I gave a Stone Telling interview (about POETRY) over at WC Roberts' blog. WC Roberts is a pseudonym of two people, one of whom contacted me to set up this interview. In a followup to the interview I commented and said I would be happy to answer questions. Along comes someone called  bearleyport  , and says this:

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Sure.

What was it like growing up in the former Soviet Union?
How were you affected by the changes '89-92?
Why did you leave?
What has been like for you, as an immigrant?
Why should death scare you?
How do you feel about Chekhov, or Gogol?
How is Russian literature represented to the west, especially the American midwest?
What is speculative poetry like in the former USSR today?
What was it like to be a poet in the USSR?
What has the "experiment" of the Marxist-Leninism or Stalinism to teach us about humanity, and how can/should these lessons be applied to predictions/visions of the future?
What good is human cognition?
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People had been pointing out to him the dehumanizing effect of his questions. I responded to him with:
Bearleyport, I do not know you from Adam, but I am frankly surprised that you would assume I would be your token ex-Soviet to interview right here on WC Roberts' blog. We had been discussing my zine and poetry in general, and my mention of FSU was limited to "I was born in the former Soviet Union." Your zeroing down on that one feature and questioning me about everything from Gogol to Marxism-Leninism is disrespectful and bizarre. I am nobody's token ex-Soviet. I am a person.
He responded with
"I think it's better to ask an "inappropriate" question than to settle for ignorance and prejudice."
 Yes, we have yet another TEACHABLE MOMENT here. Do my allies want to do a translation here? I am sick of this and would use some help.

BETTER FOR WHOM? 

Ok, Moving on, and even more interestingly, I seem to know him from Adam. Birds of various shape and color chirped in my ears that bearleyport is none other than the other half of the WC Roberts byline, who at various times went by Robert Porter, Andy Miller,  and Jose Sludge of dubious fame. Interesting, huh? One part of WC Roberts sets up the interview questions, and the other one attacks; I notice that the other two editors interviewed (white Americans) were not so interrogated.

Robert Porter/Andy Miller and his various iterations had been known for expressing misogynistic and racist views before. I learned some of this from my PoC female friend, who is welcome to speak or not to speak in the comments to this entry.

In addition to this dehumanizing behavior, the incident is is an incredible breach of trust on the part of the interviewer(s). 

I CRY FOUL.

ETA: I posted to the ST community, and will answer reasonably phrased follow-up questions to my interview there. This is also a reminder that Stone Telling is open to submissions until November 21st. As always, we are committed to showcasing multi-cultural and boundary-crossing poetry. Let's combat fail with awesome!