The Problem with Being Me

[mad_tea_party]

Is that I really don't do well when it comes to finding out bad news about a favorite author or celebrity. For me it's a complicated process. My brain tries hard to find a way to still support their work, and their good qualities while recognizing whatever their transgression was as wrong. This has never been more evident as it is right now. While I have been watching as one by one people that I've grown up with on TV and in movies come out as having done terrible things against women, I thought there was one place this would not happen, and that was in the publishing industry.

This morning I get a message from a good friend about James DashI ner being dropped by his publisher and literary agent amid allegations of sexual misconduct. I google the whole thing, and while I couldn't find anything about what he supposedly did, I do see a twitter post from Dashner himself admitting that he had done something that was inappropriate. In that same post, he acknowledged his wrong doing, and apologized profusely to those that were involved.

I want to support him and encourage his positive steps in righting these wrongs, but I'm aware of how some people will see this as supporting what he did. No. That is not the case. I've been sexually abused in the past, and I won't pretend that he did anything right. But what I will say is that unlike so many of these other individuals, he admitted it, and is seeking help. That is what I wanna support. The fact that only a handful of people really know what happened in this particular case leads me to believe that if it were anything major he would have been promptly arrested. Maybe that's wrong thinking, but that's just my belief.

Mostly right now what I am feeling is betrayed. Not necessarily by Dashner, but by the fact that my safety net has been violated by this ugliness. It has left my stomach in knots all day, and I don't know how my friends will take it when they find out that I'm not going to stop reading Dashner's work over this. He's a talented author. He made mistakes. He's been effectively ripped away from his reality for them, so in my eyes he's already suffered. This is just my perspective with only having one side of the story. Again, I don't know the details of what he's being accused of. Most of the articles just say sexual harassment, but that could be any number of things. (Both major and minor. I know. I'm not saying any of those things are to be downplayed. Again, I'm not condoning what he did. I'm just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt).

I think in this particular instance, it's harder for me because I met the guy in person, and genuinely had an amazing time with him. He didn't act inappropriately with me, Val, or Lissa, so it's hard for me to picture him doing it at all. He was a lot of fun to be around, and like most authors of Young Adult novels, genuinely seemed to love fanboying over his own work. Which is the part of Dashner I want to remember while he's going through this. To error is human. To own up to it and accept responsibility for is to be a man, and that is what he did.

Comments

[lockedgroove]

As I said over messenger, I’ve seen a handful of these cases lately in indie lit (and music, for that matter); both people I know/thought I knew and people whom I only learn about through the case rising to the surface. No industry is free of it, unfortunately. But I think it does matter how the industry handles it (which is a whole other discussion, but I’ll touch on below).

It’s totally legit to feel betrayed, especially when this is a space you feel a part of, with people whom you look up to and have made connections with at events and online. As far as him being arrested if it was something egregious… that’s sadly not the case most of the time. Just because something comes to light doesn’t mean it’s been officially reported. And because sexual assault cases are frequently not taken seriously and/or the victims face criticism and blame, most cases don’t get reported to the police, which means there are no arrests (even in cases of rape and violence). So how much info is divulged/not divulged doesn’t really mean much.

It’s early on, but for me personally, I’d probably have to see what steps he took in the future. It’s definitely good that he quickly responded and is looking to get help and the like, but unfortunately I’ve seen people go through all those things and still not own up to what they did/find excuses for their actions. On the other, there are folks like Dan Harmon who have made an effort to own up to their actions when called out and asked to do so. This, to me, is a great example because he makes no effort to excuse what he’s done and takes full responsibility. In this, I feel as though I can support Harmon’s work, to an extent, which I thoroughly enjoy. Meanwhile, although Louis C.K. reacted quickly and confirmed the accusations, and wrote a long letter of apology, his apology was more slippery (Someone did a good breakdown here) and that makes it difficult for me to support or enjoy his work anymore. Especially when so much of what he built his comedy on was being pro-feminist and critiquing the violence and grossness of patriarchy. I don’t know anything about the Dashner case other than what you’ve described, but these are examples that came to mind for me in how I’ve made these kinds of decisions when in both scenarios what happened was clearly wrong.

There’s also somewhat of a difference between supporting someone as a person and supporting their work. In the wake of Louis C.K.’s accusations and confession, Marc Maron, who is a good friend of his made a statement about how he was so disappointed to find out this was true and found the actions inexcusable, but he was going to be C.K.’s friend because right now what he needed was a friend as he seeks help and looks to get back on the right path. This is more of a focus on the person and a desire to support that person do the right thing than a concern with the person’s comedy.

The argument of separating art from the artist (something you mentioned in our chat) is an age old argument, but you have to be careful as to why you're making it and the implications.

Can you evaluate the craft of a poem or story without considering the author's personal integrity? Absolutely. A lot of the great literary men of the canon were assholes and did some really not great things in life, but their work contributed amazing things to art and history. This is part of why the revelation of Bill Cosby’s history of assault was so hard for so many to swallow. His work was groundbreaking on so many levels, and inspired a lot of the current generation of comedians. But when his work was so focused on family, and represented women so profoundly, it’s nauseating to think of the reality of his life. There’s also the fact he’s yet to confess or take any shame in his actions.

But this separation is also part of why Woody Allen, who has such a history of obvious mistreatment of women, still hasn’t been brought forward or called out. His work is too big, too influential, and he is still praised and his movies are still produced and shown in theaters, etc. And is that right? Does it in any way diminish his actions or disrespect victims of his actions throughout the years?

Of course, the difference between Allen, Cosby, and Dashner is Dashner has, again, owned up to it.

(It’s also worth noting that the separation of art and artist can be a point of white privilege since unless it's clearly stated, white is the default of author/character/narrator/etc. We don’t have to fight for representation, so it's very easy for us to make that separation, whereas artists of color have to really struggle to be represented and their cultural background can either influence the work or be a point of judgement of their work.)

Basically, in all of this, the question to ask yourself is: What do your actions or inactions represent when you support an artist’s work as a fan either through consuming or paying for the work when you know that artist has done something wrong? And what message you want to send to/what other ways are you supporting those who have been wronged? Furthermore, what do your actions represent as a member of the writing community and someone who is engaged with the publishing industry.

When presses drop authors in response to their actions or words of hate/violence, it’s partially to avoid the heat, but also because who they publish represent what the press believes in and stands for. Even if the press and those in the press have not committed acts of sexual assault, by publishing someone that has, they are complicit to that act and/or sending the message that they conde this type of behavior. Silence and passivity are always in the favor of the oppressor/wrongdoer. Publishers and editors have a responsibility to their community, to be models and represent what the community values.

Historically, it’s been harder for vulnerable and minority populations have had a difficult time getting published in comparison to their white and male counterparts. And victims of assault and misconduct are often included among those because as a society we’re so quick to victim blame/shame and silence anything we don’t want to hear. So when it comes to publishing, it’s also worth asking: Is everyone being heard? Are we showing that we support victims?

Your actions as a fan can also have political undertones. As you said, you worry that your continuation to read Dashner’s work will say you condone his behavior. You may want to ask yourself, what do your actions say as a fellow writer/member of that community? Is it because you want to support him as a person, or simply because you enjoy his work too much to let it go? Equally, are you giving others, victims and other vulnerable voices, a fair shake? What else are you doing to show you don’t condone what he did? Who else are you supporting? What do you want the publishing industry to support and how are you encouraging that? As a writer who has been sexually abused, how would you feel if someone was making the choice to read or publish an author of similar quality who has committed assault over your own work?

It’s a messy situation and like I said, in the end it’s your choice. What’s important is that you’re a deliberately making that choice and taking all these things into consideration.