What a wonderful post. Perhaps you have also been following the horrors here on LJ related to race in SF/F writing? This post speaks volumes about the heart of the matter.
As it happens, I am also "red" (Cherokee) and "pass for white". I've never made an issue of my race. I grew up Damn Poor, and all my friends were also Damn Poor, which meant we didn't have to worry over race (and we were quite a mixture of colors) because we were all excluded due to economic status. I've always thought there was no real benefit, no "white privilege" if you are so poor that people dismiss you even though you can "pass". :)
I agree completely with what you've said here about writing. It's the story that matters. If a reader is so busy noticing my technique, vocabulary, or the way I'm "deconstructing genre tropes" I have totally failed. Writing should be as transparent as possible. Or as my favorite beta-reader says, "Shut up and tell the damn story." (Every writer should be so lucky as to have a reader who will say that.) Nice to come across another writer who feels the same way.
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As it happens, I am also "red" (Cherokee) and "pass for white". I've never made an issue of my race. I grew up Damn Poor, and all my friends were also Damn Poor, which meant we didn't have to worry over race (and we were quite a mixture of colors) because we were all excluded due to economic status. I've always thought there was no real benefit, no "white privilege" if you are so poor that people dismiss you even though you can "pass". :)
I agree completely with what you've said here about writing. It's the story that matters. If a reader is so busy noticing my technique, vocabulary, or the way I'm "deconstructing genre tropes" I have totally failed. Writing should be as transparent as possible. Or as my favorite beta-reader says, "Shut up and tell the damn story." (Every writer should be so lucky as to have a reader who will say that.) Nice to come across another writer who feels the same way.