The perspective of writers is discussed in “On Whiteness and The Racial Imaginary” by Claudia Rankine and Beth Loffreda. They specifically discuss the issue of race and the obstacles an author faces when writing. Authors are often challenged when attempting to write from the perspective of another person. One of the main challenges they face is trying to write about the experiences a person of a different race has had or struggles they went through. It is mentioned in the essay how this is not possible because a person can only feel or go through the experiences of their own race. By discussing how an author has a limited imagination due to not being able to appropriately create a character that is a different race, the authors of this essay highlight how authors are not entitled to write about anything.
The essay demonstrates how an author’s perspective may be restricted if they are a different race. It is important to look out for this because it can make the text unreliable as the author is presenting inaccurate information or something they are not fully educated on. The presence of this restricted perspective can be detected by the reader by looking for sympathy in the writing. When an author attempts to write about another race, often they hold back in their writing because of their lack of knowledge and experience. Most of the time, this held back writing can be translated as sympathy towards the other race. At the same time, it can be difficult for authors to write about situations that involve characters of the same race as the author. Additionally, they might hesitate on the subject out of fear that they will be inaccurate or offend the race they are discussing in some way. These authors will usually lack the emotion or be able to develop the appropriate feelings the character of the different race is feeling because they themselves have never been in the situation and cannot properly imagine it. This restrictive writing only gives readers the wrong idea and does the opposite of the author’s intentions.
Worries and feelings of concern might flood the minds of people of color who read material written by authors of different races because they know that misinformation may be present. This misinformation might even include or be fueled by racism. Authors of other races may be angered by the accusations of misinformation or even racism present in their writing by their readers. While this may not be intentional, it can be present due to the absence of information the authors have. Some entitled authors might believe that their imaginings are without fault and will unfortunately become irritated if told otherwise. Some authors may be offended or hurt when a reader of color or another race points out the misinformation that exists within the authors writing. The offense that these authors feel tends to be blamed upon the readers of the material even though they are just mentioning the truths. However, the hurt that occupies the authors comes from the privilege of the author’s perspective and race. These authors are unable to acknowledge the advantaged position that they are in when they write. It is because of this that the issue of race can not be evaded in writing.
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