24 October 2009 — Das Racist on SFJ
Das Racist's response to Sasha Frere-Jones' New Yorker article "Wrapping Up" made me feel slightly embarrassed. While I often find myself disagreeing with Frere-Jones, I enjoy his writing and I rarely read against the grain: too often I take his premises as being true, while forming minor disagreements with his conclusions. Das Racist point out so many flaws in his premises that I had to go back and re-read the piece, surprised that I'd let so many comments through that I likely would have objected to if it had been written by someone else.
As can be expected from a spirited rebuttal, I think that Das Racist push back a little too hard. Victor Vazquez immediately gets stuck into Frere-Jones for using "language [that] is typical of that (white) journalistic voice which presupposes the (white) journalist’s authority." Which is fair, but he hedges his bets a little. On one hand, he wants to point out that the language Frere-Jones uses to begin his article has the overtones of white racial superiority, but on the other he doesn't want to come right out and accuse him of actually holding that attitude. It's a good thing to call someone for their use of dodgy language, but you walk a fine line if you want to both use examples of such language to dismantle the argument, while also taking the author on good faith by claiming that you're "not saying he’s consciously and intentionally trying to assert his superiority".
This is a minor point though. Frere-Jones, like most New Yorker writers, uses an incredibly authoritative voice most of the time. It makes him an interesting writer, but it's worth pointing out that just because someone writes with authority, it doesn't mean that they are an authority on their topic. Vazquez rightly highlights this fact, among other things.
It should be noted that I came across this piece on Frere-Jones' blog, so he at least deserves credit for linking to such strong objections to his own writing. I wonder if Das Racist find his comment a little bit patronising though?