I really love the “Well, everyone was racist back then” defense. You're basically saying "If everyone was openly racist today, well I would be too" you're just telling on yourself my dude.
If someone is not racist it is not because of some quality of their mind or soul, its because of events that occurred during their life. So it makes sense that if someone's life was different they would have different thoughts
i think one major difference between HPL and JKR is that lovecraft was entirely unimportant during his life and died penniless, alone and with basically no platform except for a handful of weirdo that kept the candle burning until somehow he developed a posthumous cult following. jkr on the other hand is fabulously wealthy and influential as a result of that wealth. she still has time to die penniless and alone but I'm not holding my breath. her hatefulness is much more impactful
…
There are Lovecraft fans who think he wasn’t racist?
Yeeeeeeeeeep
There are some who use the ol' "Well, everyone was racist back then" or "He got better about it before he died" canards and they suck too
I really love the “Well, everyone was racist back then” defense. You're basically saying "If everyone was openly racist today, well I would be too" you're just telling on yourself my dude.
If someone is not racist it is not because of some quality of their mind or soul, its because of events that occurred during their life. So it makes sense that if someone's life was different they would have different thoughts
Yeah, this is a prime example of something that is true but used to justify shitty behavior or beliefs.
The modern day equivalent would be if JK Rowling moderated her shitty beliefs and Potter stans decided that made her books unproblematic
The thing is, people have to actually try and undo some of the damage they did before they can be counted as reformed
Simply being less vociferously racist is the absolute minimum of a start, but it doesn't fix anything
For some though, that's the equivalent of Darth Vader being redeemed by saving Luke and killing the Emperor
i think one major difference between HPL and JKR is that lovecraft was entirely unimportant during his life and died penniless, alone and with basically no platform except for a handful of weirdo that kept the candle burning until somehow he developed a posthumous cult following. jkr on the other hand is fabulously wealthy and influential as a result of that wealth. she still has time to die penniless and alone but I'm not holding my breath. her hatefulness is much more impactful