Positive Discrimination

When the Token Minority can do no wrong. […] This trope can usually be averted simply by adding more than one of the given minority; then they can spread the competence around. Failing that, they can try not making it a big deal that the character is X, and maybe no one will care that they’re also depicted as flawed human beings (what a concept!) (source)

I’ve found the pitfalls of this to be especially true in teen girl fiction when the main character has a token gay or ethnic friend.  I think it’s great to diversify your characters, but a lot of these characters turn out unrealistic so the author can avoid looking X-ist, which bugs the crap out of me.  It ends up being worse for the story than not having a token character at all and sometimes even slides into a heavy-handed political message.

I like the suggestions offered in the article — it really is easier to make a minority flawed if you don’t have just one.   I personally prefer “try not making it a big deal that the character is X, and maybe no one will care that they’re also depicted as flawed human beings.”  People are people.  (Though that doesn’t mean I won’t watch my step when I need to.  I just refuse to make anyone perfect to avoid Unfortunate Implications.)

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My dad told me how his computer got locked up remotely by an agency or something that accused him of having a pirated movie.

1. Dad downloads a movie from an authorized source which he pays a fee to.  It is legal and he can keep it as long as he wants.

2. A few months down the road, his computer won’t work and just says “You have unauthorized media, please delete it.  For questions, call ____.”  And he only has access to the part of his computer where the download is stored.

3.  He calls the number and wants to know how they got onto his computer.

4.  The supervisor explains they’re allowed to search computers for illegal downloads because of certain legislation.

5. My dad does not like this.  He wants to know how they got in.  He explains (angry) that he doesn’t know that they won’t steal the sensitive information on his computer.  (He had credit card numbers stored from his sales.)

6. She explains that their actions are perfectly legal and not to worry, they’re only authorized to search for illegal downloads and won’t look at anything else.

7. Dad doesn’t care.  Once he proves he downloaded the movie legally (and they immediately unlock the rest of his computer, which is instantaneous), the woman apologizes and he tells her to never ever do that again or he’ll bring up charges.

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 ”Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21)

There were a few things I wanted in a husband.  I wanted a Christian with sensible beliefs, kindness, intelligence, work ethic, and sensitivity.  He had to be able to withstand gamma levels of weirdness . . . and he had to be apathetic about politics.

I’ve heard people say things like how not voting means you don’t deserve to be an American and offends everyone who made this country free, but the reality of my (our) choice is simply this: politics turn otherwise sensible people against each other, and I don’t want any part of that unless I can articulate my choices.  Everyone has a political bias, everyone gives only their personal viewpoint, and I have neither the time nor motivation to sort through all the misinformation, through every news report on every station and in every newspaper to differentiate opinion from truth.

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I found a list on Julia Quinn’s message board of the top 50 romance novels of all time and decided to give a few a try.  I figured they’d have an exceptional plot and terrific character development, since they’re considered top 50 of all time by a forum of women who like one of my current favorite writers.

I had a great time with the recommended books, but it wasn’t due to anything I’d expected.  It was the moments I went to our home office with book in hand, laughing.

Not with the book.

At it.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.  I’m one of those women.

I make ruthless fun of romance novels.

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This won’t be a long post, but it will reference two articles that I found useful.

First, Mystery Man summarizes the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” story conference between Spielberg, Lucas, and Kasdan, and one of the most surprising nuggets he finds is this:

What happens in the past, off screen, good or bad, does not affect sympathy. It’s what we see the character do in the present that determines how much we will or will not care about that character.

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