HP Lovecraft was extremely racist (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 years ago by Lilith@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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[-] LGOrcStreetSamurai@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I really got the into Lovecraft and the adjacent genre “weird horror” genre over the COVID-19 lockdown. I like to think that H.P. was both a product of his time, and also uniquely racist. I wonder how his works would have changed had he not died as he began to realize the error of his ways later in life. I wonder him getting over his fears of just about everything would have impacted his storytelling

Also lmao this comic tho :data-laughing:

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

Love telling Lovecraft fans who deny his racism to say the name of his cat out loud to my face

[-] Lilith@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

…

There are Lovecraft fans who think he wasn’t racist?

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago

Yeeeeeeeeeep

There are some who use the ol' "Well, everyone was racist back then" or "He got better about it before he died" canards and they suck too

[-] GoebbelsDeezNuts@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

I really love the “Well, everyone was racist back then” defense. You're basically saying "If everyone was openly racist today, well I would be too" you're just telling on yourself my dude.

[-] CanYouFeelItMrKrabs@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

If someone is not racist it is not because of some quality of their mind or soul, its because of events that occurred during their life. So it makes sense that if someone's life was different they would have different thoughts

[-] MeatfuckerDidNothing@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

“He got better about it before he died” canards and they suck too

Yeah, this is a prime example of something that is true but used to justify shitty behavior or beliefs.

The modern day equivalent would be if JK Rowling moderated her shitty beliefs and Potter stans decided that made her books unproblematic

[-] FlakesBongler@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

The thing is, people have to actually try and undo some of the damage they did before they can be counted as reformed

Simply being less vociferously racist is the absolute minimum of a start, but it doesn't fix anything

For some though, that's the equivalent of Darth Vader being redeemed by saving Luke and killing the Emperor

[-] FourteenEyes@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

HP Lovecraft is just what you get when an anime pfp Twitter Nazi is born 100 years too early

Also not to defend him but for what it's worth he wrote in some of his final letters, when he was dying of colon cancer, that he regrets posting cringe on race and politics back in the day (paraphrased). Also he married a Jewish woman, something she'd have to remind him of when he'd go on long rants about the Jews when they had guests over, which is just fucking wild.