They say to never meet your heroes.
Sometimes they will let you down. Sometimes they will lift you up. No matter the case, heroes are human. So what happens when our heroes and inspirations come up short, or worse, they do something we can’t stand by and ignore?
I am VERY good at separating the work from the artist. When an artist has passed away, a lot of bad behavior often gets ignored. Kipling was a chauvinist. Celine was an antisemite and fascist. Lovecraft was racist. Reading those who are dead and gone can’t make a buck off us reading their works anymore. The more difficult issue is, what if the artist is still alive? While I may be really good at compartmentalization, I will never help someone I don’t respect make money off of my patronage.
How do we avoid handing our money over to people who will use it in ways we would never approve of? What options does that leave us? Luckily, two!
First, USE THE LIBRARY! Libraries are one of the greatest resources we have. They thrive of both community support and use. The more we use them, the more funding they get. Borrow the books or request the ones they don’t carry. Most libraries have partnerships where they can share requested titles, shipping them between those who do and don’t have them. One book can be lent out to a legion of readers and not a penny goes to the author. You can read the books and feel secure in that you are not supporting behavior you can’t stand behind.
The second option, for those of you like me who keep their books on a shelf like trophies, is to buy used. It’s rare one can’t find a used copy of a book. Once again, libraries are a great option. Many have fundraiser book sales. Tiny Libraries are popping up in front of houses all over America where you can discover tiny treasures. And there are a myriad of second-hand book shops, both brick-and-mortar or on-line, where you’ll find cheap reads that won’t put money in the pockets of those you don’t want to support but still want to read, for whatever reason. There are even some websites where you can trade books with other readers.
Many of the seminal works of literature were written by problematic men and women. Culturally, we shouldn’t try and erase the work because the ones who created it fell off the pedestals we put them on. While the artist falls, their work meant something to us when we read/saw/experienced it. Many people say writing is lonely endeavor. As a writer, I agree to a point. We do our work in solitude right up until we share it with first readers, publishers, or larger audiences. The readers who sit with our words inject their own personal filters onto the themes we work with. Reader: hold onto that. The book you held in your hand, that meant so much to you, hasn’t changed because the person who wrote it fell short of the image they worked to promote. When they released it into the world, that story stopped belonging to them and evolved into a much greater creation solely through your interacting with it.
P.S. This post is in no way a defense of anyone’s actions or words. It is only to express the opinion that we can still enjoy art in spite of bad actors in our communities and to give options to those struggling with current events and how to navigate those waters. If you disagree, please do so, but in a respectful manner. I am always open to listen and consider a point as long as that point is not expressed with malicious intent. Opinions that support hate or harm toward any group have no place in respectful discourse.