Decolonizing Your Bookshelf

[Lindsey]

Misty wrote: "We talked about how it is important to read women, but that I did not include white women authors because they already have more advertising dollars, etc., so the talk was centered on BIPOC women authors. We even talked about the term "decolonizing your bookshelf," and how it was a term I took from others, and what does it mean. We talked about making sure that the books we were adding to our bookshelves from BIPOC authors weren't only centered on trauma."


Misty - so glad it went well! I love the points you made above.

And so sorry to hear about your husband. Hope things are less stressful soon.

[Jen]

Misty, as this thread was your personal thing, how about deleting the thread as it’s erupted into a lot of hostility and derailment and misunderstandings and I would assume the hostility is really against group guidelines for interaction?

[Carol]

Jen wrote: "Misty, as this thread was your personal thing, how about deleting the thread as it’s erupted into a lot of hostility and derailment and misunderstandings and I would assume the hostility is really ..."

Thanks, for this suggestion. It is, indeed. I admit being a bit stunned at the outcome and unsure how to diffuse it effectively.

[Anita]

Misty wrote: "Uh....... well, I had no idea that asking for recommendations to give people would turn into what this thread has turned into.

FTR - I appreciate the suggestions. The supper went really well. We h..."

Misty, it sounds like a wonderful success. I applaud your efforts and am genuinely impressed with your work on this. While the conversation may have gone sideways a couple times, I’m happy your dinner went well and the conversations you had were had - it is inspiring.

[Mj]

I've read all the posts in this discussion thread - lots of passion, confusion, excellent points and differences of opinion, with plenty of hurts, emotions and viewpoints mixed into all the posts.

I hope no one leaves the group. Every one is valuable. I thought every single participant in this discussion added something interesting. helpful or important. Diversity is a good thing. We need to hear and listen to voices different from our own in order to grow and expand our mind-set.

Perhaps we could use this discuss as a learning tool. Only by discussing different viewpoints with people who have different experiences that us, will we able to learn a bit of how to walk in others' shoes - sort of what the drift of decolonizing means. We can expand our knowledge only with people and books who are different from ourselves either in the past or currently and leading. very different lives. The onus is on people with privilege to learn and understand from people without privilege who have and continue to suffer and not share the wealth and opportunities of the privileged.

Am not a fan, nor do I support, the deleting of any posts or events that have happened in history- kind of reminds me of what some people are currently trying to do in some countries - trying to rewrite history and pretending colonialism, oppression, wars, bigotry, racism, killings, crimes, bombings, stealing and taking control over both people and their lands/countries for their assets and not sharing or paying true value to those that are having these things taken away from them or not letting them share in any of the resulting increase in wealth and improved quality of life.

It's been going on for too many generations and too many years....sweeping it under the rug and pretending it never happened is pure and unadulterated colonialism - the privileged using their power to take away from and oppress others with less privilege.

Some of the positives of this discussion that I think also makes it worth keeping to reflect upon; is that in addition to the dissension, there were also words of encouragement and support, and some members felt safe enough to share personal feelings and some of their personal story and background with the group. That's a good thing and a big deal - that members felt willing to share their personal information. Yes tones got edgier as discussion got more emotional on many sides - to be expected but I think a good sign for more group sharing and decolonizing.

Let's keep the post and learn from it Nothing is more boring or teaches us less than when everybody agrees.

Thank you everyone who participated for a full and honest discussion and please keep hanging out with our Read Women group..

[Lindsey]

Mj wrote: "Let's keep the post and learn from it Nothing is more boring or teaches us less than when everybody agrees."

MJ - in reference to your quote here (above), I tell my girls this all the time :) Anytime they're fighting or we're disagreeing as a family, it's a good opportunity to remind ourselves of this.

I've learned quite a bit from this thread. Thanks MJ and Misty and all those who've added to the discussion.

[Jen]

I'm sorry for my part in the escalation here. And as originator of the snowball! If questioning Japan inclusion was offensive to you, Alwynne, or to others who just didn't speak up, I'm sorry. I wish I had had the clarity of mind from the beginning to explain how I came to that question.

That is generous of folks to say there is something to gain from the comments. As Lindsey said, there needs to be value in the group for members and I question if whatever may be gained from the conversation was worth what it cost. We have at least 3 of us clearly hitting a tipping point, utterly uncomfortable, offended, and ties are being severed sadly. Who knows how many others who are just on the sidelines questioning this space. Maybe some are eating popcorn and having a laugh. You're welcome... ugghhh...

Communication skills- I'm working on them...

[Carol]

Jen, I don't think there is anything incorrect or inappropriate about questioning language in the sense of, why are we using this word that means X in a context that suggests X isn't what we mean. The phrase decolonizing has been used by BookRiot and others with a great purpose but your inquiry flags the oddness of its use.

I've reentered this thread to affirm that both sides-ism isn't okay. We can disagree about topics and points of view, but that doesn't mean that it's acceptable, at least in this group, to express negativity toward a specific commenter or member in a way that is demeaning.

I also have no problem deleting posts that are uncivil. We are quite a large group with many silent members who don't necessarily find this tenor of exchange to enhance their understanding of the world or their reading life. This isn't the historical record of a country or political movement. It's a GoodReads group. For many of us it's a happy place and break from the realities and ugliness that we encounter in real life away from the digital world. No one should be worried that posting sincere messages in a thread will draw rhetorical fire.

I'm moving this thread to the Archive. I'll lock it at the end of this week.

[Lindsey]

Jen wrote: "I'm sorry for my part in the escalation here. And as originator of the snowball!.."

Jen, you have nothing to apologize for!

Questioning things is how we learn and grow. I'm here for it. And I thought you brought up a great point about the language.

[Jen]

Thank you so much for the reassurances. That is heartwarming in a shaky moment.

I appreciate your solution, Carol. It didn’t occur to me that this was an option.