Re: C&H Article on Slate

Recklessly waiving the right to remain silent, on 10 Nov 2005 08:22:14
-0800 larrytucaz@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

>Beefies wrote:
>>
>> Y'know, maybe he does have a mental quirk--extreme shyness or
>> agoraphobia--that sets him apart from the mass of humanity. So what? That's
>> his problem (if he even considers it a problem).
<snip>
>> Brian
>> momscancer.com
>
>Sure, and if you had any "friends" who were like that with you--always
>keeping you at arm's length, acting all nervous if you took a photo of
>'em like it meant the Martians were going to come take 'em away, being
>THAT aloof & distant--you mean to tell me it wouldn't hurt that they
>were keeping you that much at a distance? Of course it would. That's
>total human nature.

No... Brian points out that some people find human contact difficult,
even painful. Why, if I knew someone like that, would that have to be
about me-me-me? Getting MY need to be acknowldedged and liked and
'connected with' met, in spite of THEIR silly discomfort or pain? If
I'm a compassionate person, shouldn't it be about them? Their needs?
Their psychic comfort? Their ability to conduct their lives in this
insane, demanding world?

>We were put on this Earth to CONNECT with each other,

Why do you say this? Other than the demands of reproduction, which we
seem to be fulfilling quite nicely, from whence do you get this idea -
presented as fact - that we were put on this earth to connect with
each other? And why is this imperative so dominant that even those who
don't want to, who find it painful and wrenching to, must do so at
others' request?

>But when you try & claim the rights to ONE SINGLE PHOTO taken of you
>nearly 20 years ago because you're THAT freaky about ONE SINGLE PHOTO
>of yourself being in circulation

(Can someone post a link to this? Is Watterson chasing down a 20 y.o.
photo? I hadn't heard about it but I know he is remarkably shy.)

>--egads!--when even your own PARENTS
>who live right in town hardly ever see you (if I've heard correctly, I
>may not have),

Lord save us from being judged by strangers on the basis of our family
relationships!!! I would have been thrown to the wolves by a
torch-and-pitchfork-bearing mob about 10 years ago...

> when you market a new product (however recycled the
>material) and then don't ANY, ANY publicity at ALL even when
>introducing a new product, and when even at such a time you STILL
>stubbornly refuse to do ANY autographs or answer ANY fan mail (again, I
>can understand not obliging every single instance because you'd never
>have a free moment)--well, that's just being a lunitic.

He gives you his art. You may purchase and get great enjoyment out of
it. You know what you are buying and he knows what he is selling and
asking you to pay for it.

Why do you assume that you deserve, somehow, more than that? Do you
feel the guy who owns the car dealership where you bought your auto
should be obliged to give interviews to the press so you can "know
him" better? Should the cute waitress at the diner feel compelled to
have her photo taken with patrons because they pay her tips? Would you
feel angry if the person who knit the sweater you bought at the craft
fair last week didn't reply to your "fan mail" admiring it?

>Yes it is his right to do, and yes it has nothing to do with how well
>or sorry his cartoons are--but it is lunacy, and it single-handidly
>will keep me from buying anything of his.

Doesn't it occur to you that because he feels the way he does, this is
a perfectly happy outcome for him? His sales do not seem to be
suffering from this lack of self-promotion. Most of his fans seem to
find it refreshing, even admirable. He would no doubt be relieved to
have those who think he owes them some kind of song-and-dance move on
to other targe- er, artists.

>That's my right to choose

Absolutely. A win-win situation. :)

>just as much as it's his right to choose to be such a fruitcake.
>And I don't like fruitcake, thank you very much.

I don't much care for it myself. I personally feel that those who
insist that they somehow "own" a piece of an artist, that s/he must
respond to their need to be acknowledged, are often crazier than the
reticent artist by an order of magnitude.

ronnie
--
return address altered. remove my collar to reply.
"I try to be cynical, but it's so hard to keep up." - Lily Tomlin
http://www.hearingloss.blogspot.com * a weblog about deafness
.

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