how can you support Veronica Roth's book? It's racist. Do you even know what racism is? You should revoke your support of her book.

I’m going to answer your second question first. Do I know what racism is?

Being called Paki, Sand N*****, Camel Jockey, etc. and hearing my family being called that since I was a small child, having people vandalize my parents’ motel; having them trash my brother’s car; my father getting assaulted and arrested for being brown in white town; my teachers telling my mother I didn’t belong in their classes when I was 5 years old because I didn’t speak English even though I was 100% fluent; having a checkout clerk tell my mother I was stealing when I was a 3yo because I ate a grape at a grocery store; a teacher attempting to sabotage my education by forcing me to spend a year in remedial classes in junior high to put me behind despite having high test scores; being harassed, insulted and attacked by a group of teenagers as a 7 year old walking with my brother in the desert; getting ordered out of a store in my hometown for ‘looking like a gangbanger’, getting pulled over and hassled with my best friend for driving around my home town because she was white and I was not; having a group of guys surround me on a bus in college and mock me for my appearance;  being told over and over  GO BACK, GO BACK, GO BACK; Even now, dealing with micro-aggressions and getting regular messages and anon asks (b/c I choose to keep an open line of communication with fans) telling me that I don’t deserve any of my success, that I am a ‘diversity case’ or that I am, somehow, inferior because I am brown.

Does that constitute as racism? If so, then yes, I know what racism is.

Now that that’s out of the way: I have had many people asking my thoughts on Carve the Mark, the book in question, or telling me my thoughts are wrong, so here’s what I have to say:

I read Carve the Mark critically and did not find the book to be racist or ableist (which was the other criticism leveled at it.)   To be absolutely clear–I read the criticism thoroughly and found that I did not agree with what it was saying. I thought that there was plenty of evidence in the book that the exact opposite was true, and that the cultural groups represented were varied and nuanced and open to many different interpretations. (One example: I felt that the cultural group portrayed as more “violent” was comprised of many skin colors and reflected a hodgepodge of different societies, and that the main character was portrayed both critically and sympathetically. And I felt that the group portrayed as more “peaceful” also had an array of skin/hair types, and again, was portrayed as nuanced–both good and bad.)

(Re: the issue of ableism, more informed folks than I (see Leigh Bardugo and Kody Keplinger) have spoken about the issue. I direct you to them because they are more knowledgable about issues of ableism than I am.)

What is happening here is a difference in opinion. It is a normal thing in a free and fair society. For some reason, this upsets a few people, as they apparently think that people of color are some sort of Borg Uni-mind who all think exactly the same way. Here’s a tip: we don’t. POC can disagree with one another, guys. And we can discuss, and we can learn from such disagreements.

This is a case in which I disagree with the criticism that another POC has for this book. Not because I like the author of the book. Not because I haven’t read the book. But because I just don’t agree with the criticism. This, by the way, does not mean I don’t like or respect the people who have leveled the criticism. Quite the opposite. It. Is. A. DIfference. In. Opinion.

As the wise Somaiya Daud said, “there is no One Reading”, meaning that people can read the same book and have different takes on it.

Example:  I read a book a couple years ago by a POC author that unintentionally denigrated my language and people. Other people read this book and did not see this at all. In fact, some of you might have read it and not noticed it or found it offensive.  To me, that’s ok. You read and interpreted it differently than I did. I can inform you of how I feel, and discuss it with you (I actually did with the author, and the author was receptive) but if you read it, and hear my opinion and ultimately don’t agree with me, I’m going to respect your right as a free citizen to have your own opinion. I do not expect you to trash the book or not read it because I was hurt by it. In fact, I’d rather you read it, because then you’ll have an informed opinion about it and speak about it intelligently.

And that’s sort of what this comes down to:  In dealing with other POC, not all POC opinions are immediately the ONLY opinion. We are not a monolith.

As a WOC who has dealt with racism, often violent, since I came to this country, and as a WOC who has spent much of her life being told to sit down and shut up, I find it very odd that some of the people who consider themselves allies are essentially telling me to sit down and shut up. (Not all of them. I’ve had many civil and intelligent conversations about this.) Essentially, they want me to revoke my opinion about the book.

So here’s the thing: You can criticize me. You can say “Sabaa, you are an idiot and I disagree with you.” That’s fine. You have that right and I absolutely support you being able to voice your opinion. But don’t tell me to undo my opinion. Because by doing so, you are, in effect, attempting to silence me, and I am sick of people trying to silence me.