[Rant] "All art is political"

[reihanfeoru]

I'm not going to directly call out who said this (it's my blog, get the fuck over it), but it's something that's been on my mind. This idea that (paraphrasing) "all works are political, whether or intentional or not"...

Why is this weighing on my mind? Because the thought that something simple that I write being taken in such extreme ways kinda kills the enjoyment I get out of writing. The idea that someone is going to take any potentially offensive word they find in my stories and use it against me...

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I've been on the bad side of online lynch mobs, and that sort of shit never leaves you. Even if you did nothing wrong, you start looking at things you post online as potential ammo for people in the politically correct side of the equation to use against you. It's TERRIFYING, but that's what many people have turned into. "Us or them", "get the word out that $x is $y", etc... People don't treat others as people anymore.

And for those who seem to shrug this, off, don't forget that I'm wanting to become a writer as a career. Even if I'm not doing commission work, a bad public image can outright kill any chance of that happening, especially since I don't have an established fanbase to counter any false claims that come down on me. It's something all independent artists and authors worry have to deal with when they're starting out.

I don't make political works. I want nothing to do with politics. So when I'm being told that my works will be regarded as political no matter what, that really doesn't encourage me at all. In fact, it outright discourages me from even attempting to write.

So yeah... Just needed to get that off my chest.