1/5 I used to feel the same. Still do mostly. But I've struggled since maga with my belief that artists, business owners, and even neighbors should be judged SEPARATE from their public entities. I argued what you said throughout the 80s, 90s, and 00s, with clients until I was blue in the face.
2/5 Even then, I distinguished between shitty people and evil people. I no longer listen to my childhood crush, Michael Jackson, because... ya know... child sexual abuse. Or Bill Cosby... rape. etc. Still, I considered hateful speech to be private and separate.
3/5 But I've come to realize that, in so doing, I have played a role in the erosion of public discourse. I helped to embolden the hurtful, evil behavior that quite likely aided maga's growth. I once used, as a joke, in conversation with people who know me and my heart.
4/5 They could have let it slide, but no! They, my good friends, let me have it! In freaking PUBLIC! I was forced to consider my actions. I could have dumped them as friends and continued my "good-hearted" jokes.
5/5 Instead, I realized they were right, curbed my "free-speech" rights, and changed MYSELF. THAT has made all the difference.
I could probably ruin your day with insights to some of the world's most famous artists. Would you give them all up? Movies have hundreds of people that work on them, surely there are quite a few that are total shitheads. I'm not going to not watch a blockbuster because the boom mic guy's a nazi.
Well said, and yes, I too have had this discussion before. The problem is hypocrisy. Again, if we held every artist/entertainer to the same scrutiny, we'd have virtually nothing left, and at some point their art becomes/belongs to the people.