A quick rant. in The Big, Blue, House. Year two.
- March 28, 2023, 5:41 p.m.
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- Public
Every time I make the mistake of looking at a YouTube video about H.P. Lovecraft, I wind up coming here to vent. I’ve done it so many times now, that I might ought to just search for my own older entries and re-read those.
I’ve argued, at great length, with authors, and casual fans, and people only just barely acquainted with the subject, against offhandedly denouncing his entire body of work, and him as a person. He’s become a “popular” thing to be outraged about, and the sheeple flock to validate each other for hating on the socially correct things.
People defend Poe’s pedophilia at every turn. He married his own thirteen year old cousin. At face value that should certainly be at least as morally offensive as using the “n” word in a poem and a short story. But no. Poe gets reams of excuses from endless hoards of apologists, while great glee is taken in creating all sorts of content bemoaning how terrible Lovecraft was.
People. Seriously. He died in 1937, from intestinal cancer either caused or greatly exacerbated by his incredibly poor diet, because he was so broke. He lived an incredibly insular life, suffering from undiagnosed neurological and mental issues. He was xenophobic to the point that it literally crippled him. He couldn’t hold a job. He wore his late uncle’s old suits. He had very little social contact outside of his aunts and his pen pals. His lone romantic relationship ended abruptly, because he couldn’t deal with the city, or being employed. He lost both of his parents while he was young, and never had any childhood friends. His life overflowed with suffering from start to finish. CAN WE CUT THE GUY A FUCKING BREAK ALREADY.
I console myself with the fact that, no matter how many YouTubers, or podcasters, or Redditors, or writers rant and rave, his works are permanently seared into the fabric of horror and science fiction. They can no more extract H.P. Lovecraft from the collective history of fiction, than they could dig up every spore of armillaria ostoyae, (the world’s largest, predominantly underground, fungus), from Oregon.
Tale Foundry on YouTube made an abhorrent video decrying his essay on cats: “seems likes a joke”, and “a bit much”. I commented: "He was right about cats though, in every respect. His writing is beautiful, merging prose and horror in ways that simply no one else has. That you would find it "a bit much" speaks to your personal taste. It's art, and art is by it's very nature subjective."
Deleted user ⋅ March 28, 2023
Lovecraft and Poe have all been dead a long time. What you and others are doing is simply talking opinions. You and others get yourselves worked up about a past that is now relegated to opinion. Why I get so upset about it? People can interpret the shit out of things, but it does not mean the people or their lives were as interpreted. Will it make a difference in anyone’s life to talk about these dead authors? So much of it is ego and dick measuring. I read much rob craft poe, and so many others. I personally don’t give a shit they lived they wrote, they died. I care about you. I don’t want to see you conflicted is why I wrote all this.
Asenath Waite Deleted user ⋅ March 28, 2023
I get your point. Being dead, he's beyond being bothered by anything. It makes an infinitesimal difference in how they're portrayed in the public opinion.
And there are certainly more important, immediate, problems, that actually affect living people. Abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, the environment.
But everyone knows about those causes, and everyone is doing all they can to move those metaphorical needles the way they think they should go already. The whole country is already clamoring about them.
Dead authors that next to no one cares about are a niche subject. Hypocrisy there can benefit even from the miniscule light I might shine on it. So I plant my little flag, and argue my point, however pointless it might seem.
It is a highly inflamed pet peeve of mine that no one is bothered by Poe's pedophilia, but nearly everyone hates Lovecraft for two mentions of the "no word". It's hypocritical, imbalanced, unfair, asinine, and unjust. And being dead, he can't defend himself either. So I do what any fan would do, and defend him.
As far as my mental health, it's a good distraction from the constant, oppressive existential dread. Something to get mad over beats being depressed.
I appreciate your concern though.
Sleepy-Eyed John ⋅ April 09, 2023 (edited April 09, 2023)
Edited
People used to commonly date fuck marry 13 yr olds etc. So I've heard. So it wouldn't have been seen as weird back then.
I'm of the mind that if it's not completely hateful leave it alone. And that's a horrific life you described.
Asenath Waite Sleepy-Eyed John ⋅ April 11, 2023
It's late, and I'm groggy. But I wanted you to know that commenting and replying to you, specifically, is on my To-Do List. I wouldn't ignore you intentionally.
Sleepy-Eyed John Asenath Waite ⋅ April 11, 2023
:)
Asenath Waite Sleepy-Eyed John ⋅ April 14, 2023
Oh I agree completely. Her age wouldn't have raised any eyebrows at the time. But neither would Lovecraft's xenophobia. It's the way people pick and choose what to be outraged over, the hypocrisy, that I can't stand.
Sleepy-Eyed John Asenath Waite ⋅ May 08, 2023
Ya. It's not like their Grandparents who they love weren't assholes. I don't think people should be assholes if they can help it, but I also don't think you should burn books written decades or centuries ago because it offends your sensibilities on Tuesday.