This is one of the few l!Stephen fics that is actually a direct jab at r!Stephen. Or at least, his writers.
Remember the Wørd where "Stephen" mocks a white critic of the President for highlighting the race of a black critic? The line was something like "Way to prove you're not a racist: by highlighting another person's race." When, earlier in the very same segment, he had delivered one of his "I don't see race; therefore, I'm not a racist!" zingers, which satirize the idea of colorblindness. And, well, I was a little frustrated with the implication that ignoring race and talking about race both demonstrate a person's racism.
Buuuuuut whenever I try to elaborate on ideas like that directly, I manage to put my foot in it. So I deconstructed the notion in my own head, then falsely reconstructed it with l!Stephen, and let readers work out my behind-the-scenes opinion on their own. (As with r!Stephen, it's easy for people to assume I agree with them.)
And now that I've revealed the secret behind the trick, I've probably sabotaged my future use of it :P Ah well.
(I do try to make l!Stephen a bit less clueless than c!Stephen on racial issues, because he's willing to listen and learn. But he does have a tendency to agree with whatever strong opinion he's heard most recently, even if it contradicts the one he supported the day before.)
no subject
Remember the Wørd where "Stephen" mocks a white critic of the President for highlighting the race of a black critic? The line was something like "Way to prove you're not a racist: by highlighting another person's race." When, earlier in the very same segment, he had delivered one of his "I don't see race; therefore, I'm not a racist!" zingers, which satirize the idea of colorblindness. And, well, I was a little frustrated with the implication that ignoring race and talking about race both demonstrate a person's racism.
Buuuuuut whenever I try to elaborate on ideas like that directly, I manage to put my foot in it. So I deconstructed the notion in my own head, then falsely reconstructed it with l!Stephen, and let readers work out my behind-the-scenes opinion on their own. (As with r!Stephen, it's easy for people to assume I agree with them.)
And now that I've revealed the secret behind the trick, I've probably sabotaged my future use of it :P Ah well.
(I do try to make l!Stephen a bit less clueless than c!Stephen on racial issues, because he's willing to listen and learn. But he does have a tendency to agree with whatever strong opinion he's heard most recently, even if it contradicts the one he supported the day before.)