So, Scott Lobdell displayed his general Twitter etiquette today.
Let me start out by saying a few things:
(Newest comments are first, oldest last.)
1. I did misinterpret his initial response. My bad. When I asked about Roy’s Navajo heritage, I thought I was being clear that I meant his connection to the Navajo culture, not his ambiguous Native blood. I apologize for that, since I do get the feeling that a lot of the drama from his ostensibly changing Roy’s background was not deserved.
2. I still do think Scott’s comment, legitimate question or not, was poorly phrased. I now understand what he intended, but people still took offense, and he should have apologized for that rather than acting like people saying that he said something with a lot of racist connotations was the gravest of insults. If I step on someone’s foot without meaning to, I still apologize.
3. I also still think Scott is a racist and a misogynist. Not because of his comment, but because I’ve read RHATO. Which also gave further reason for his comments to be taken as insensitive.
4. The last comment on my part was probably somewhat off-topic, but, hell, I’d been wanting to get that off my chest for a while.
5. Whatever else, I think we can all agree that DC’s PR department has no Twitter policy.
It’s ironic, b/c I was actually all set to post a “My bad, Scott actually meant this, though I still think his question had enough in common with racist statements about people who don’t ‘look’ Native not being Native enough that he should apologize” Tumblr post before this conversation continued, the Android app just wouldn’t let me post it.
Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to be answering any more of my questions.
I’m really disappointed in Lobdell.
It’s easy to say something hurtful without meaning to. I’ve done it.
When someone points out that you’ve said or done something hurtful or offensive, it’s natural to feel defensive about it, because hey, you “didn’t mean it that way”, you didn’t intentionally hurt someone, so it should be okay, right?
Well, no.
If you hurt someone, whether you meant to or not, you should apologize. Like, if you step on someone’s foot, you say, “Oops, excuse me! I didn’t mean to do that.” Right? That’s just common courtesy. You don’t say, “Hey, I obviously didn’t mean to step on your foot. What’s your problem?”
I know people who were personally, deeply hurt by Lobdell’s “How many ginger Navajos are there?” query. I think he should apologize. If he is genuinely interested in the answer, that’s fine, too. That doesn’t mean that an apology is inappropriate or unnecessary.
Another example of how defending oneself against any association with the word “racism” is more important than not being racist… I can’t say I’m disappointed in Lobdell because it’s been a long time since I’ve expected any better from him.
