• Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    So, I shouldn’t read Sherlock Holmes, because he was in favor of the British Empire?

    How about Greeks and Romans who endorsed slavery?

    • AlkaliMarxist@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Sorry, I should have explained. Here, we generally believe that it is ok to consume media made by shitty people but that you should place it into the correct context, which in Heinlein’s case is that he had bigoted and proto-fascist beliefs that influenced his work. We don’t think it’s necessary to defend someone (or their work) from fair criticism just because we enjoy consuming what they create.

      So yes, read Sherlock Holmes and Greek and Roman works, but do not think that Doyle’s western chauvinism doesn’t color his works and acknowledge that Plato or Cicero had crappy beliefs that should remain dead and buried with them, but still expand your mind by becoming aware of what they believed and why by reading them. Do not uncritically accept their beliefs and do not defend them or their beliefs just because they are talented or interesting or important.

      Criticism is not, in itself, censorship, and understanding requires context and critique.