On Assholism

In my prior post, I railed against giving money to assholes. I think I must make an important distinction. You shouldn't give money to an asshole for being an asshole. If they write a great book or release a great CD, you can buy despite their asshole nature. For example, I have heard that the scuttlebutt around this bar is that James Ellroy is a jerk par excellence. Steve Albini shares this reputation. I still consume their works with enthusiasm. I might feel differently if I were to meet someone face to face and find them repellent, but as this has never happened, I really can't say.

To actually give an asshole money as his celebrates his assholery though is a horse of another color. This is rewarding bad behavior. Now our culture does support some element of laddish behavior, but again that is something else. To go around and write of things that would make a frat boy blush is really just too much. I suppose I shouldn't be too bad, there are books that celebrate worse things, although no one is going to be hawking the Protocols of the Elders of Zion all over the place, unless of course you live in the Middle East. The world has enough pompous bastards in it, so try not to give them more money than you have to.