So recently there has been some controversy over the lack of non-white judges, especially black judges, in the Wattys.

Now before I proceed any further I must point out I am also a person of color. I feel the need to say this because whenever someone talks on an issue regarding race, if you don't put 'I'm POC!' your opinion is immediately scoffed at by 'social justice warriors.' I think in matters of race everyone should be allowed to express their opinion, and no one should say, 'You're white so your opinion is invalid!' or something.

Here is the judging panel for this year's Wattys.

While most people congratulate and thank judges, some people have pointed out the lack of people of color in the judging panel.

Some people are critisizing Wattpad for not choosing people of color, but most of the argument was chastising wattpad for not choosing any black judges. 

However, some people protest to these arguments:

These 2 users had quite some back and forth, with people leaning more towards the side that pointed out 'No black people?' However, this was a highlight of the original commenters' argument

(not the full comment)

Wattpad has responded to the original commenter with this:

'Hi (username). Thank you for the question and calling us in on this issue. First, we unreservedly apologize. Your feedback, which is absolutely valid and correct, points out the systemic failure of the volunteer judge process, and how it can--and has--resulted in an initial group of judges that doesn't reflect the full diversity of our team and the wider Wattpad community.

We would also like to provide important context into the volunteer judging process. All Wattys judges are volunteer positions, open to anyone at Wattpad. Judges are added throughout the Wattys submission season, and new volunteer judges can join the roster through the fall. We balance trying to build a diverse group of judges with ensuring employees--particularly BIPOC and marginalized employees--are supported if they take on this volunteer activity. We will be revisiting the judge volunteer process in the future to find a better way to encourage and support a more diverse initial group of judges at launch. Thank you again for your note.'

MY THOUGHTS:

Now, if you find anything I say wrong, feel free to point it out. But here is what I think of this issue.

Firstly, I do not agree with 'If there are no black judges, books written by black writers will not be judged properly'. 

An asian can also say, 'If there are no asian judges, books written by asian writers will not be judged properly.'

A Hindu can also say, 'If there are no Hindu judges, books written by Hindu writers will not be judged properly.'

And someone with ADHD can also say, 'If there are no ADHD writers, stories featuring ADHD characters will not be judged properly'.

I think all these scenarios are the same: people understanding another group of people who have lived with situations different from their own. Understanding someone different from you. I have trust enough in Wattpad that they chose judges very capable of doing this.

Secondly, if Wattpad had to include people of all races to judge, it would be near impossible. The truth is, Wattpad is based in Canada. Most of its workforce, due to its location, is probably Canadian too.  

Another point is that people had to VOLUNTEER to be judges. I know what you're thinking, 'So Thalia, you're saying NO black person wanted to judge?' No. Not everyone wants to judge an award for a reading app. Maybe people of other countries outside America (the continent) did not know about Wattys that well. Also, Wattpad selected people based on merit. I'M NOT SAYING BLACK PEOPLE DON'T HAVE MERIT, obviously. That's a stupid thing to suggest. 

I'm merely saying perhaps 10 black people volunteered, and 100 asians did, and 1000 white people did. If we assume only 10% of humans are talented enough to judge, then 1 black person, 10 asian people, and 100 white people would be chosen to judge. 

Someone also said 

I don't think the first commenter was in any way being racist at all. And in no way did they imply that black people are untalented. I feel like the person who replied is just looking for an argument. 

To conclude, no I don't think Wattpad is racist at all. Wattpad always has tried to uplift diverse voices. They promote stories of LGBTQ, people of color, muslims (or any other religions') more than any other writing platform, and in some cases more than even the traditional publishing industry. 

Also, to people saying 'no black judges?'

Is Florent Muyango not black? (I'm genuinely curious, by the way. I'm sorry if he actually is not black and I have mistakenly labelled him. But people kept pointing out 'no black judges' so I was wondering).

Anyways, feel free to disagree and point out anything wrong I said. I apologize if I offended anyone, I did not mean to be offensive. Please point out any errors so I can correct them.

What are your opinions on this issue?