hpl: bigoted newt, or just misunderstood?

[krakenten]

Sonia Green, his wife, said he was a good enough lover.
She was a Jewess, and there goes antisemitism.
As to dark skinned and especially mixed race people, in Lovecraft's day, they were the villians of choice-a half-caste was the lowest thing people could think of-even today, in Asia, being of mixed race is considered a disgrace.
As I have said elsewhere, the past is irrecoverable, what's done, is done.

[Ward13]

"In an interview with Salon, Stephen King characterized his predecessor as best read by teenagers and other people "living in a state of total sexual doubt."

Says a guy who wrote about (IT) pre-pubescent boys pulling a train on a pre-pubescent girl so they'd have the courage to fight the bad alien.

Yeah silly how HPL stuck to writing horror and never brought up under aged sex and/or pedophlia.

[E.A. Lovecraft]

Yeah silly how HPL stuck to writing horror and never brought up under aged sex and/or pedophlia.

Imagine the repercussions if he dared.

[krakenten]

Stephen King and Peter Straub are great writers.
They often praise Lovecraft as an innovator.
And Lovecraft was a racist-further research shows his wife often admonished him when he went on venomous racial rants(and you know what I mean, racism has recently, and wisely, been classified as a mental problem).
Not to mention a morbid fear of seafood.......

[JJ Burke]

racism has recently, and wisely, been classified as a mental problem

really? a psychiatric instead of sociological phenomenon?

i suppose there could be neuroses or mental predispositions leading to irrational prejudice in various forms, but it strikes me as odd that racism would be pinned down in such a clinical way.

not doubting your report, just chin-scratching

[Draconis]

racism has recently, and wisely, been classified as a mental problem

That's a common and easy thing to do, sadly. Notice the same thing was said about homosexuality for a long time, in fact up until very recently indeed the US military authorities classified it as such. Please don't think that the comparison means that I think homosexuality is wrong (that would be an odd standpoint for a big gay queer like myself ) or that racism is right, only that often, in conjunction with some bad science, social conditions are attributed to mental illness as a way to avoid having to *actually* deal with them.

[krakenten]

Talk to a serious racist sometime.
They're nuts. all right.
They can't control it, either.

[E.A. Lovecraft]

Not every racist is nuts, but they're all definitely ignorant.

[E.A. Lovecraft]

gay queer

If two lefts make a right, does a gay queer make a straight?

. . . often, in conjunction with some bad science, social conditions are attributed to mental illness as a way to avoid having to *actually* deal with them.

That's true, but I can't see such an approach picking up much steam in a diverse society that thrives on pointing fingers and making accusations. Characterizing racists as disabled would mean we'd have to take pity on them.

[krakenten]

But they are to be pitied.
Racists are people who passionately believe in things they know are not true.
No one is saying they are legally insane, or need to be hatched up, only that they have an aspect of their personality they cannot fully control.
The recent gathering of Holocaust Deniers in Iran gives you some idea of how far this problem can progress.
And a good indication of this pathology is the propensity to rant on the subject, throwing reason to the winds.
Lovecraft is reported to have done this-he would denounce the Jews, and Sonya would remind him that she was a Jewess, to little avail.
It wasn't all that uncommon, at the time-the first half of the XX Century was a time of hysteria, frenzy and simple solutions to non-existant problems.
Fellow named Hitler took advantage of that........

[E.A. Lovecraft]

But they are to be pitied. Racists are people who passionately believe in things they know are not true.

I think what they know is that their views are not acceptable in mainstream society.

. . . at the time-the first half of the XX Century was a time of hysteria, frenzy and simple solutions to non-existant problems.

And present circumstances are different?

[JJ Burke]

racism can spread around like a communicable disease.. even if each individual doesn't believe in it, they can be pressured to conform their behavior. in this sense, racism can be described as a cultural affliction. but before it reaches that pandemic stage, it has to be approved by a critical mass of individuals making conscious choices to approve (or at least, to not oppose) the trend

[Jesus Prime]

gay queer

If two lefts make a right, does a gay queer make a straight?

Three lefts. He'd have to be a gay bent queer.

[Eternities End]

Man I bet Lovecarft could kick all our asses in hand to hand combat...

[Jesus Prime]

He couldn't stand up straight, you know.