A few thoughts on appropriation

Contrary to what some folks have said, it’s not that hard to attribute ideas. On the internet, links work great. In books, that’s what footnotes are for. I’m suspicious of nonfiction books without footnotes. “Oh, that’s too academic and elitist, waah waah.” No. People don’t have to read the footnotes, endnotes, and/or bibliography if they don’t want to. And by giving up your sources, you’re proving to those of us who do care that you’re not pulling stuff out of your ass.

If your blog is about the batch of cookies you baked last night, or that trip you took to Colorado, attribution probably isn’t that important. But I don’t think it’s too much to ask that someone with a college education, who’s writing for a major alternative news outlet, have a basic understanding of the need for, and methods to, acknowledge (at the very least) that other people have been working on the same or similar topics. This is especially important when you don’t belong to the group to whom your particular topic is most relevant. Even if your article did spring fully formed from your forehead — and honestly, those of us who write with any regularity know how rare that is — how hard is it to google around afterwards and provide a list of links at the end of your piece, saying “Here’s some places you can find some more information on the subject”?

What’s the goal? Pursuing patriarchal white supremacist ideas about success–being the lone explorer/savior, the authority, shedding brilliance and enlightenment? Or being part of something bigger, part of a network or a movement of people who want a different world and are working on building it in lots of different ways? If the former, well, then, of course acknowledging that someone else did it first, or better, will make you seem less than. If the latter, showing how you are connected to a web of others working towards the same or similar goals makes you stronger. I think that’s part of what “solidarity” means.

If you don’t know what sparked this post, and you’d like to, cut and paste the following link in your browser:

You’ll find more links there that you can follow if you wish.

Filed under: feminism as politics, internet drama, media/culture criticism by Amy's Brain Today