Another funny thought…

So, I wrote a book with an offensive scene, and some people have said that because I wrote the scene, I promote those values. This morning, my sleep addled brain kicked over this joke for a new level of funny.

You see, the people making these claims are almost all horror writers. Those would be people who write about violence and gruesome depictions of despicable acts. And, right at the top of their list of complaints against their critics is "Just because I wrote that grisly rape and murder scene does not mean I want to do it, or that I am promoting it." And these are the same people who cry foul whenever there's an attempt to link violent behavior with horror films or books. It's just not true that what they write turns people into killers, they say. The people who are influenced to kill by horror were already messed up.

And, they're right, 100%. BUT, now because I wrote something offensive to them, this same argument does not apply to me. I am clearly a sick puppy who wants to promote deviant sexual values, and my writing is training perverts, who might otherwise have been healthy normal people if not for my book's evil and corrupting influence.

So, they write a brutal rape and murder scene, and that's not promotion of a value or a celebration of it, and it's not responsible for other peoples' sick urges. But, none of this horror writer logic applies to me, because of the age of my fictional character.

Hypocrisy. It's not just for breakfast anymore.