As I promised in the previous post, here’s one devoted to someone who has had an important role in my life and who has a birthday today. My mother-in-law. Happy birthday, June.
Wait, what? Oh, sorry about that. Got confused for a minute.
I want to talk about H. P. Lovecraft on his birthday (August 20). I’m gong to vent my spleen a bit.
A day or two ago a link came across my Twitter feed to an article ranting about Lovecraft’s racism. Yeah, that again.
Let me make something clear for everyone who didn’t quit reading at the last paragraph. I do not condone, subscribe to, or approve of Lovecraft’s views on race. Period. Full stop.
That does not mean I don’t enjoy his work. Do certain aspects of it bother me? Sure. But I’m a big boy. I can handle viewpoints that aren’t the same as mine. I can even handle viewpoints I find offensive.
What I get tired of are people who continually judge writers from other periods in history by today’s standards. For some reason those writers are always found wanting. If you don’t want to read an author because of their views on race/politics/religion/how they pronounce tomato, that’s fine. Just don’t tell me I can’t or shouldn’t read those authors. There’s a tendency to go beyond that and try to shame people who enjoy certain authors whose views aren’t politically correct. And people who do this have been awfully loud lately.
I’ll read what I damn well want to, and I don’t need anyone’s approval to do so. Certainly not the approval of some shrill scold, regardless of whether I agree with their point or not. If the fact I like Lovecraft, or Haggard, or Howard, or Burroughs, or any other writer offends you, then you can go pound sand.
Me, I’m going to read some Lovecraft in honor of his birthday. Hmm… “The Dunwich Horror” is looking pretty good. I think I’ll try that one.
You will always find issues with people if you use today’s eyes to read yesterday’s stories. We are supposed to be intelligent enough to realise it. We cultivate stories of the old masters so that they may never be forgotten, warts and all. It is a greater sin to forget the art of these great writers than ignoring their racism. They are dead now. Nothing is gained by endlessly bleating about their perceived racism.
That said, it’s part and partial of today’s outrage culture. Ideologues who want to dictate what we may or may not enjoy and they even go so far as wanting to control our thoughts and speech. Blog posts like this one allow us to fight this culture and not give in to them. If we give in to them we will enter a totalitarian age of absolute dullery. So speak up and and don’t listen to them. Don’t give them power.
Well said. I refuse to give in, and I refuse to quit reading the authors I like. I recognize the warts. I also know standards change, and today’s virtues could easily be tomorrow’s thought crimes.