Karma

Kosoko Jackson, who is black and gay, worked as a “sensitivity reader” for publishing houses.  His job was to flag “problem content” which was insensitive to minorities.  

He once said, “Stories about the civil rights movement should be written by black people.  Stories of suffrage should be written by women.  Ergo, stories about boys during life-changing times, like the AIDS epidemic, should be written by gay men.  Why is this so hard to get?”

Jackson recently wrote a book for young teens entitled “A Place for Wolves.”  One of the bad guys was an Albanian Muslim.  Jackson was attacked for his insensitivity, and the publisher withdrew the book.  

Here’s one example of just how stupid this whole thing is.  The first time I read “A Woman Lit by Fireflies,” I somehow missed the name of the author.  I was just amazed at how she captured the inner thoughts of a desperate woman.  When I put it down, I turned to see who wrote it, and found the author was Jim Harrison, a hard-drinking tough guy.  

It’s fiction.  You can write about other genders, other races, just others.  Empathy is universal.  The issue is not who you are, but how well you write.  

I hope Mr. Jackson has learned a lesson, but probably not.

I read about Mr. Jackson in an article by Jennifer Senior, “Teen Fiction and the Perils of Cancel Culture,” New York Times, (Mar. 10, 2019), p. 10 (SR).