Tony wrote:
"In other words, why is it OK to write about some morally
offensive behaviors, but not OK to write about others?"
Short version, I'd say it's okay to write about all of those
behaviors. Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc, can be
as fascinating a subject as murder, corruption, etc; put them
all together and you've got a book I would read. My problem
comes when any one of these is unexamined (by the author,
it's fine if the character is unware f things about
him/herself), when a racial slur is overused for no reason
other than to shock or, worse, without even thinking (again,
by author, not character). Saying people actually say it
isn't enough. People say
"fuck" all the time, but it can have far more effect in a
book when used sparingly, with a purpose.
As for non-PC language getting more criticism than morally
reprehensible actions, well, it may be rare to criticize a
book for including bribery, murder, rape, etc, seldom are
those acts included without a well thought out reason, and
seldom are the most vicious acts depicted in a positive way
(except when meting out vengeance). In fact, wasn't that what
the controversy was over The Confession (well, at least among
those who actually read it before calling for its burning),
that there wasn't strong authorial disapproval against the
main character and his actions? Murder is pretty much seen as
universally bad in crime lit (with a few rare, well
rationalized exceptions), but gratuitous racial slurs can
actually be mistaken as a sign of how edgy a writer is.
Mark
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