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magnificent1rascal
Over 90 days ago
United States
Forum
Divine Rapscallion
Quote by gypsymoth
I have my own credentials, different from the ones you claim, but I shall not cite them here because they are not pertinent to the discussion. They exist, nevertheless.
As do I.
Divine Rapscallion
I'll make just one more post about this to clear up a few things before I leave it be.
1. As I pointed out in the comments section of the story, I have not given a score on the story: "I wouldn't think of giving a low score because I don't care for the subject matter, but neither could I in good conscience give it the 5 that the writing deserves."
2. I did not, as has been insinuated, read and disregard the warnings, and then say the story was inappropriate. As a moderator, I read the story before it was posted, supported it being published here, and withheld comment until Rumple himself specifically asked for input, positive or negative.
3. At no time did I say the story was inappropriate or shouldn't have been published. What I did say was that as a writer, I believe casting Klan members as the protagonists and telling the story from a Klan point of view was "a disservice" and "misguided."
4. I said the pejoratives "bothered" me and I found the tone of the piece, specifically telling it from a Klan point of view, "unsettling." I never said the story was offensive or objectionable; I said it wasn't funny.
5. It feels as though I'm being taken to task for expressing my opinion. Isn't telling a reader what to think just as bad as telling a writer what may or may not be written about?
1. As I pointed out in the comments section of the story, I have not given a score on the story: "I wouldn't think of giving a low score because I don't care for the subject matter, but neither could I in good conscience give it the 5 that the writing deserves."
2. I did not, as has been insinuated, read and disregard the warnings, and then say the story was inappropriate. As a moderator, I read the story before it was posted, supported it being published here, and withheld comment until Rumple himself specifically asked for input, positive or negative.
3. At no time did I say the story was inappropriate or shouldn't have been published. What I did say was that as a writer, I believe casting Klan members as the protagonists and telling the story from a Klan point of view was "a disservice" and "misguided."
4. I said the pejoratives "bothered" me and I found the tone of the piece, specifically telling it from a Klan point of view, "unsettling." I never said the story was offensive or objectionable; I said it wasn't funny.
5. It feels as though I'm being taken to task for expressing my opinion. Isn't telling a reader what to think just as bad as telling a writer what may or may not be written about?
Divine Rapscallion
I often refer people to the following site:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
It addresses the most common grammatical problems such as verb tense and pronoun reference inconsistency, subject-verb agreement, run-on sentences and much more.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
It addresses the most common grammatical problems such as verb tense and pronoun reference inconsistency, subject-verb agreement, run-on sentences and much more.
Divine Rapscallion
I think perhaps the basis and nature of my objection have gotten lost in this discussion. Here is exactly what I said:
The problem, as I see it, stems from having a Klansman as the point of view character in a comedy piece. That's like having Hogan's Heroes told from Col. Klink's POV with Nazis as the protagonists. It wouldn't have been funny no matter how bungling they happened to be.
Don't get me wrong: Crime can be played for laughs, often quite effectively. The Ransom of Red Chief is one of my favorite short stories. But in that story, the kidnappers are petty criminals out to turn a quick buck whose plans are foiled by the victim himself. In this story, the wrongdoers are racists setting out to commit a hate crime, whose plans are foiled by...a dog. No challenge of their beliefs is issued, no lessons learned. They don't pay a price for their intended action.
As a moderator, I was in favor of the piece being posted. I defended the derogatory terms as being no different than a direct quote in that they were expressing the thoughts of a character if not his actual spoken words.
As a reader, however, I simply can't see the humor in it. Some things are too evil to be funny.
Quote by magnificent1rascal
In my opinion, casting evildoers as your protagonists without presenting the (righteous) opposing view is a disservice. The broad, almost slapstick, parody of their stupidity is played for laughs but never questions their hateful beliefs or acknowledges the true heinousness of their intended action.
The pejoratives did bother me — the j-word is just as or perhaps even more offensive than the n-word — but it was the intrinsic acceptance of extreme racist behavior as normal and OK that I found more unsettling. Cross-burnings weren't pranks; they were serious warnings of worse yet to come.
While the folks I lampoon are merely annoying, the Klan is reprehensible and dangerous, and I don't see anything funny about it. My view is that the decision to create humor in an unfunny situation was misguided in this case.
The problem, as I see it, stems from having a Klansman as the point of view character in a comedy piece. That's like having Hogan's Heroes told from Col. Klink's POV with Nazis as the protagonists. It wouldn't have been funny no matter how bungling they happened to be.
Don't get me wrong: Crime can be played for laughs, often quite effectively. The Ransom of Red Chief is one of my favorite short stories. But in that story, the kidnappers are petty criminals out to turn a quick buck whose plans are foiled by the victim himself. In this story, the wrongdoers are racists setting out to commit a hate crime, whose plans are foiled by...a dog. No challenge of their beliefs is issued, no lessons learned. They don't pay a price for their intended action.
As a moderator, I was in favor of the piece being posted. I defended the derogatory terms as being no different than a direct quote in that they were expressing the thoughts of a character if not his actual spoken words.
As a reader, however, I simply can't see the humor in it. Some things are too evil to be funny.
Divine Rapscallion
Rumple de Writer recently published a humor piece here on Stories Space which has engendered a discussion in the story comments section that might be more appropriate in the forum. It is about a trio of bungling would-be Ku Klux Klan members who are done in by their own stupidity and foiled by an unlikely opponent.
Here is the story we're discussing: http://www.storiesspace.com/stories/action/the-belle-of-catawba-street.aspx
While we aren't afraid of a lively debate, please keep all comments respectful.
Here is the story we're discussing: http://www.storiesspace.com/stories/action/the-belle-of-catawba-street.aspx
While we aren't afraid of a lively debate, please keep all comments respectful.
Divine Rapscallion
Umm, unless my eyesight is worse than I thought it appears that your first paragraph was excised, which is a shame since the first sentence of the second paragraph was predicated on it.
Divine Rapscallion
Congratulations to Steffanie, CK and Rascal!
To all the entrants: Thank you for making our jobs as judges so difficult. The competition was extremely close, with many worthy submissions. Selecting the top three from among them all was no easy task.
To all the entrants: Thank you for making our jobs as judges so difficult. The competition was extremely close, with many worthy submissions. Selecting the top three from among them all was no easy task.
