There was a period of time in my life when people, my mom in particular, told me that I had a talent for writing. What no one ever knew back then was that I hated writing (and still do) because my thoughts rarely slow down enough and/or stay linear enough to capture them in any coherent way. Or that’s the way it seems to me and that’s why I don’t write much or often.
But I studied writing a lot mostly by way of reading – Toni Morrison was one of my favorites for her economy with words and, of course, her subject matter – brilliant. In fact I was supposed to graduate from college with a writing degree. What my professors didn’t know was that I would dash off my *better* pieces the morning before they were due. The *lesser* of my works were tortured piles of crap that I’d agonized over, going through the motions of *doing it the right way*. Maybe my mom and all of my writing mentors were right? Anyway, I still think I’m best at comprehending the written word and the intention of their authors than I am writing those words. I’m also quite sure that I’m not alone.
So when I see some women in our little radfem blogworld (I don’t do, or get even, the social media joynts) go off on others, I simply do not understand – it doesn’t compute and I’ve read the links and I’ve understood all of the postions involved. The conclusion HAS TO BE that there are some really great researchers and writers who cannot, or will not, comprehend others’ words. Because short of a reading comprehension failure I see no reason (usually) for otherwise smart and committed women to be issuing insults and expletives and accusations at anyone involved in our movement publicly or privately. I mean, what’s the point? Are they not entitled to the product of their thoughts?
