I have a suspicion that trouble with FA is about to flare up again

[fpb]

My older friends will remember the long war I had with a previous generation of FA moderators. Now I have lost my temper again, spectacularly and on their threads, and I suspect that it will make trouble.

I just read a chaptered fic (you will understand that I have no intention to increase the author's hit count, so we'll forget the name and title) which contains the following passage (behind lj-cut):
"Precisely," Caitlin smiled thinly. "And if it sounds horrible to you, think what a mage would think, coming from a community where you had magical privies that made the waste disappear, mud resistant robes, cures for most diseases known to the Muggles, a non-existent infant mortality rate, nice clean stone buildings for everyone, house elves that kept everything sanitary using magic and a standard of living not far off what you're both used to. I'm telling you, the phrase 'filthy Muggles' wasn't abuse back then, it was a fact. Of course the mages of the day felt they were superior - why wouldn't they? The poorest mage lived better than a Muggle king. Salazar was only different in that his attitudes were more extreme and professed more openly. He wasn't interested in saving Muggles from themselves, and he certainly didn't want their children around, with their insistence in only one god, and eternal damnation for those who didn't follow him, and that magic users not sanctioned by their High Priest in Rome were going straight to Hell. Actually can't say I entirely blame him on that score," she said with a grin.

Luella had to admit that being told that your magic was evil on a daily basis would probably annoy even the most patient of mages.

"But that doesn't mean being a Muggle-born makes you inferior!" she responded.

"Well, of course not," Caitlin replied. "Times have changed, and so have Muggles. Most love the idea of magic. That weird Middle Eastern crucifixion cult has lost its hold on their minds. And perhaps most importantly, they've discovered science, and it's given them power equal to ours in a way. No, Luella, in no way do I think Muggles are inferior. But back then, Salazar had some good points, and a lot of mages agreed with him, up until the point where he started secretly advocating the extermination of Muggle-borns, and the banning of mage-Muggle marriages, or at least severely restricting them to suitable candidates. That was when he crossed the line, and that's when war broke out, and Salazar got thrown out of Hogwarts. Battles were fought, alliances were made and broken, and a particularly nasty bloodfeud ensued that endures to this day. Salazar, I might add, lost, although his House stayed. Enough of them repented or stayed loyal to make it worthwhile keeping it. After all, Salazar Slytherin was still a Founder. But from then on, Slytherin House was seen as different, marked out by its past. At best, a house to be wary of, at worst the source of everything evil. Dark mages from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are overlooked or explained away as having had a traumatic past. Dark Slytherins have always been blown up into terrifying figures of absolute evil. Their Dark Mages are seen as one-offs, aberrations. Ours are seen as typical Slytherins. Until the 1970's, we Slytherins have always put up with the prejudice and just got on with our lives. We dealt with it by consoling ourselves that our house may be evil but at least we were the talented ones. That's why we're noted for our ambition: we start out automatically disadvantaged and work twice as hard to catch up. We've all got something to prove. We've been hated but we get by....

I found this not only offensive but a genuine instance of hate speech, including evident racist overtones (apparently being "middle eastern" is bad) and a loathsome misrepresentation of historical fact. I let the author know in the comments thread, and added a warning against this fic in the thread where I had originally found the link. Now it all depends on whether the moderators think this is, a), flaming, and, b), not justified by the evident and contemptible hate speech in the fic. Either way, I really do not think I intend to retract a single word.

Comments

[ms-katonic.livejournal.com]

I happen to know the author very well - she's not a Christian, but doesn't have anything against the members per se, she just doesn't believe in it.

Also, I don't think she believes in every single thing her characters say. I know the fic in question, and Caitlin's intentionally a deeply flawed character - not evil, but damaged. You're not meant to want to be her or follow her every word. I believe it's called "expecting one's readers to have a brain in their head and use it".

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I refuse to read beyond the passage that I found disgusting, but I understand from your and your colleagues that several chapters after that, Caitlin does something regrettable or criminal and certainly disgusting. Let me point out that at the point we are in, nobody would minimally suspect her. IN narrative terms, she is setting the stage. Even her apparently criminal behaviour later on does nothing to alter the credibility of her narrative. It would only be if the narrative itself were shown to be fraudulent that you could say anything to defend it.

And now, let us cut the bullshit. You ought to know as well as I do that this kind of shit is simply the ordinary currency among the half-educated, those who know nothing about history but have an opinion about it anyway, and who do not want to bother to learn more because the facts might confuse them. To present them in this bald and unashamed fashion, as historical narrative, by a character who at this point figures as the enlightened one and the enlightener, shedding light in every direction, is to approve of it. If you try to argue otherwise, you are a rotten judge of prose and narrative.

[blue-sky-day.livejournal.com]

Don't you think it's a bit disingenous to be referring to yourself in the third person like that?

[ms-katonic.livejournal.com]

And indeed, who knows me better than myself?

[ms-katonic.livejournal.com]

And yes, Signor Barbieri, I am the author of the fic you reviewed. No, don't worry, I'm not offended by your opinions. You have every right to hold whatever opinion you wish and express it in whatever forum you think best. No, I'm not offended. I am but a humble minor fic author who once wrote a fanfic, many years ago when I was young and new to fandom. When I wrote those words, back in 2001 (I think), I had no idea that one day they would cause such drama. I am staggered anyone's still reading my youthful follies.

So no, not offended. In fact, Signor Barbieri, I want to thank you. For your honesty, your forthrightness... and for giving me and my friends list the most entertaining evening we've had in ages. My thanks, Signor. My thanks. :D

[fpb.livejournal.com]

What I read here is nothing but a way of thinking and acting that is based on point-scoring. You get caught misrepresenting yourself, and suddenly you start acting the lady. You claim not to be offended, but you are trying to run me down with every word you say and every attitude you strike. Disingenuousness is your middle name: you speak of "youthful follies" when you kept them online for years, built a Yahoo group on them, and apparently have friends ready to defend them at a moment's notice. They only cease to be important, in other words, when you find that someone is offended. You write to your own and your friends' prejudices, but you are not willing to take responsibility for them, and pretend that they are not important enough to care - since in seven years you have apparently seen no reason to rewrite the story, as was well within your rights as an author. You do not even have the honesty and truth to yourself to admit your anger, or to worry that being caught effectively lying might not look good.

To thine own self be true, and it must follow
Thou canst not be false to any man.