It’s something I struggle with. Some bad news comes out about some public persona doing something shitty and they get cancelled. But sometimes I really struggle with giving up the things they’ve made because I like them. There are also occasions where the person has been accused of something and it doesn’t seem true to me, or I think they’re genuinely sorry and have been punished enough, and the context isn’t being considered.
What do you think? Who do you feel conflicted about enjoying?
Being uncomfortable with it in your own home is only different in that you actually have some control over what is displayed in your own home, but the irrational judgement of the art based on the non-artistic conduct of the artist exists regardless of whether you have the power to force your judgement onto others. It all still applies. There is an implied moral superiority in the statement of ‘You do you, but I would never,’ in the same vein as someone who makes a point to say to gay people, ‘You do you, but I would never.’ Saying ‘I didn’t say you couldn’t do it’ is the same ‘I’m not saying anything like that. I’m just asking questions,’ excuse people use to get away with making all sorts of implications that they know they can’t really justify.
You’re the one reading into it. We’re talking about art. People like different art. And that’s ok. I do not imply any form of superiority, moral or otherwise when I say “you do you”. So you can scratch that off.
I have loads of stuff around my place that honestly, are not particularly beautiful or amazing in any way. But the artist is very dear to me, for various reasons. So I like to have them on display.
Why does it matter so much to you that some people would prefer to avoid artists due to their conduct? It doesn’t affect you. You just want to make it about yourself, by thinking that we judge you for listening/watching/buying/whatever from the artist. The world doesn’t revolve around you.
I don’t think you’re a bad person for enjoying Chris Browns music. I don’t think about you, at all.
It’s not about me. It was never about me or some art that I don’t have. It’s about you and people like you, and the lies hidden in silence.
The issue is not with the ‘you do you,’ but with the ‘but I would never.’ People only express the negation as applicable. You wouldn’t, for instance, say ‘I would never run backwards to Turkmenistan,’ because there is no reason to assume you would. If we all spent time saying the obvious negatives, we’d be babbling non-stop from waking to exhaustion. It’s more like the guy who says ‘I would never wear a dress.’ It doesn’t say openly that there’s something wrong with wearing the dress, but he wants you to know he’s not one of those lowly dress-wearers so badly that he’s going out of his way to say it. When you say ‘but I would never display such’n’such class of art,’ it is inherently a disavowal to place yourself apart from those who would. It is a signal, not silence. You can ignore the hypocrisy of your pretence, but it’s there regardless. The prejudice of the ‘but’ phrase is just as present in ‘but I would never’ as it is in whatever follows ‘I’m not a racist, but…’
I don’t know what you are smoking. But you need to stop. For your own good.
You’re trying to go into this massive tangent away from the topic and I’m just not going to follow.
I’ve already told you clearly what I mean and what I don’t mean. I’m not going to argue with you about how you personally percieve something. I’m sorry you feel that way.
I love ice cream, but I would never order a banana split. So that means I judge those that do? That I see myself above those that like banana split? The answer is no. I just don’t like banana split. You do you. Each to their own. Whatever floats your boat.