Huh.

[e_juliana]

So there's an article out on Teh Interwebs, talking in part about how I insulted someone on a message board by "snerk"ing at a comment she made about characters of a certain race being in a bunch of stories that are set where I live. This is a continuation from the article she put on her blog, that I contacted her about and tried to explain my side of the incident, with no acknowledgement. The article expands on it and ties into the article written last year about the group of theater artists I work with, and her part ends with her saying I would never cast (paraphrase) an Asian actress in a "white canon" play.

The worst part about it? It's a deliberate effort to Google-bomb certain tage and words. As an extension of that, I'm named, the article is named and linked to, and Z found it by vanity Googling.

The thing is, and what I told her, is that she came in to the board at a point where I was riffing on my outsider status here, and how white it is here, and we were all just generally being goofy in what I think of as a safe haven. I chose my words poorly, I did not see the inherent racism in my comment, and for those things I am deeply sorry and shamed. I told her that in an email when I first saw the blog entry, and no answer.

So. This is part and parcel of the danger of the Internet, and that's how it goes. It just makes me very sad, and hey, look! There go the trust issues again. Whee!

As for my artistic merit, well, she's seen jackshit of my work and of my process, so she can keep her assumptions to herself.

Comments

[mfnlaw.livejournal.com]

Oh darlin', hugs to you. Lots of them.

Some people are set in their views of the world, no matter how baseless they are. She took your statement out of context, and blew it out of proportion.

She's as close-minded as the "racists" she wants to eliminate.

[e-juliana.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie.

Legal-type question - it's libel if it's on Teh Internets, isn't it? Since it's in written and "permanent" form?

[mfnlaw.livejournal.com]

Yep, which falls under the general category of defamation. The problem you will have is actually proving they were false statements of fact, and not opinion, hyperbole or name calling. For the most part, it's the writer extrapolating nonsense from a single word, but it's her opinion. Nothing she says can be proven true or untrue.

It sucks, but I would also caution you to check with a MN attorney since I'm not licensed to practice in your state and therefore unfamiliar with the specific laws governing defamation in your jurisdiction.