Since the word “diversity” appears on Litbreak’s masthead, I thought I should write something about it, with the qualification that diversity has a complex family of meanings. Here’s one tip off on the emphasis in this essay: There is such a thing as a literal meaning, but it needs to be conditional and specifically applied. For example, murder is wrong as unconditionally as can be. But some people, and also sometimes the state, don’t consider legal execution to be murder…although some people do.
There are others in our politics who think it’s a fairly routine matter to threaten those with whom they disagree with death. Most people would oppose that point of view. But still, there are some communities of people (hopefully small) who think it’s a fine idea that death threats are made. Even though they assure us that they would never personally commit murder or urge others to do so. The threat becomes “an extreme political statement of discontent, cathartic, tactical”…but that’s all. So you can see that even in an obvious case of “literal” meaning, complications of meaning can arise.
If there can be semantic crimes in politics, then the “crime” of blanket rhetorical attacks that use words literally (They want to destroy us. They want to destroy our way of life.) energize the fearful or vulnerable, even if those statements might not be literally true.
Being rational means being reflective, means parsing things out. But to engage mass movements, hysteria works better. Perhaps because of being older, I prefer reflection to catharsis, and that’s why I have a literary magazine. There’s plenty of emotion provided by the writers on Litbreak, but there’s also some reflection as well. The defense of literary quality, of thinking as well as feeling, requires a balance between rationality and emotions. A full human being requires both. Besides, we all know that mobs can be ugly, and it’s highly questionable that anybody can give you the right to suppress or destroy someone else’s life. (It happens anyway.)
I’m going to pretend to change the subject and talk about gated communities of all kinds: gates of the mind, of ethnicity and race, of religion and politics and actual fences with gates and guard posts. I think they are good but only with qualifications. Gates define identities. First off, gated communities are inevitable. Our society consists of communities and communities and families within communities in relationships that are so complicated that, if charted, they would result in a very dense organizational chart indeed.
Pretending to change the subject again…Submission cover letters can sometimes be disarming. I could write a separate essay about that. I once got a submission that said “since Litbreak celebrates diversity, you should publish my submission because I’m a white person.” I didn’t answer him because I didn’t believe he would listen to me. But over 90% of Litbreak’s contributors are already white, because that’s who is mostly submitting to Litbreak. I can only publish based on the pool of who is submitting. It’s sort of funny how that works:
For years I was exasperated by the lack of LBGTQ submissions to Litbreak…because it’s my group. Then the problem “solved itself”. I published a few pieces from that community that were good. And gradually, over several years of doing so, the submissions from the gay community increased to the point that I’m happy with the voices that are being heard. I still decline over 95% of LBGTQ submissions. But that’s because I decline over 95% of submissions overall.
That’s not exceptional for a literary magazine. On the contrary, many lit mags are far more restrictive than I am. You have to have talent. Writing talent is a very rare thing. Anyone can learn to write better. But talent in writing is something you’re born with. It can’t be manufactured if you don’t have it. That’s the talent gate and it’s highly restrictive.
Finally, here’s a seer-like warning about gates. The people within the gates are only safe if the overall society that contains the gated group maintains a stable diversity. If society at large destabilizes, then no gate (of any kind) will save you. Your gates will be pulled down, your bodyguards will run away and there is no locked door that can save you from a howling mob. Our safety is illusionary unless everyone is safe and safely represented…in the case of Litbreak in the glorious art of literature.
That’s what diversity means to me. Honoring diversity would mean that everyone is safe, which also means that their diverse cultures are safe. Take away the culture and you erase the person that culture represents. The attempts to erase the stories of minorities and remove their books from libraries are de facto attempts to erase the people those stories represent. So I’m just trying to save my ass here on Litbreak. But I’m also trying to save you.
Diversity is the ultimate sanctuary. Diversity does not validate replacement theory. Precisely because everyone is included no one is excluded. To share is fair, including the sharing of power. We call that democracy.
And take it from a gatekeeper, diversity in the form of art is absolutely beautiful.
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Dennis Haritou is the editor of Litbreak Magazine.
