So this is one-half to save my not-really-deathless thoughts, and the other half testing out a bit of functionality I haven't used yet:
Wish people trying to defend Lovecraft wouldn't say things like "he was racist, like a lot of people of his time."
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
Folks, Lovecraft was *super* racist -- even "for his time." That's not a good argument.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
The good argument is that a lot of what's interesting and compelling about Lovecraft comes from that all-devouring Fear of the Other.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
Lovecraft's best stories are about hideous demon-things that walk like men and want to change us all -- GET IT!?
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
The racism is baked in at a molecular level, & that's what makes him fascinating: it's a mindset almost entirely based on fear of everything
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
But don't try to excuse the racism, or say he was great despite it -- it's too central for that. Ya gotta face it head-on.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
I mean, he was gibberingly racist against *Italians*, in a way that's like a secret code now. No way to sweep that away.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
Course, I did my thesis on Lovecraft and edited a collection of his stories, so I'm not unbiased myself.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
But read weird old racist books! Most old books are racist in one way or another anyway, so you should at least find the weird ones.
— Andrew Wheeler (@Hornswoggler) October 16, 2014
And that says what I wanted to say, I think.
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