Today’s topic is not about art. So if that is what you came here for, I’m sorry to disappoint, but please come back next week.
Since early last summer, I have been listening to a person doing live videos about art on Facebook. It started out as a daily thing, but now, after over 290 days, it is only on weekdays. It was originally intended as a way to help out artists during the pandemic, but it soon became quite clear that the real reason was to make this guy’s company better known and to help him keep the company going and to save his employees’ jobs. Which is fine, and he openly has said this many times. I have learned an awful lot from him and from the scores of very talented artists that he has on every day. I have even attended a four day art conference they organised last fall, and am signed up for another one coming up shortly. In fact, I don’t think this blog would exist if it wasn’t for him. Where I have a problem, and where I stopped listening every day, is when he repeatedly says that we have to “keep our head in the game” (meaning on art), and “stop doom scrolling”, which I, perhaps wrongly, have interpreted as “ignore the bad things that are happening around you”. To give you an idea of what I mean, I looked at his January 7 post (the day after the attack in Washington), and his only mention of the event was to explain that he had decided to cancel yesterday’s (Jan 6) broadcast because there was no point in having a broadcast as everyone would be watching the reporting on TV!!! He even said someone “he admires” had told him years ago that “you can never compete with Santa Claus”. Yes, he said that, the day after the attempted coup by a sitting president’s mob …. Now I appreciate the generous sharing of art instruction and the work that goes into preparing these daily artist interviews. I understand that it is a business and that they have their needs and goals. I understand that he feels that his role is to give people something else to think about. But is it wrong of me to expect a bit more “let’s talk about this” from a person who has such a large following? Instead, we get “let’s talk about something else”. And no one listening disagreed, at least not openly. That is the main reason why I no longer follow him regularly. Although the artistic instruction his guests offer is precious, I don’t feel comfortable with this “all’s well with the world as long as we keep ignoring what’s wrong with it” attitude. Like as artists we shouldn’t concern ourselves with current events! I can accept that people tune in to his show to hear about art and not to get a news bulletin. But isn’t there a point when what is happening in his own backyard becomes important or troubling enough to set aside a few minutes to talk about it? Is he so afraid of offending anyone (i.e. losing customers) by taking a side that he prefers to just look away and pretend nothing is happening? As the saying goes, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem…. Thankfully, another artist that I follow and who does weekly art talks on Facebook live, took this week’s time to talk about the difficulty he would have, when the pandemic is over and we can do things in person again, to interact with many of his artist friends, who he still respects as artists, but who have become victims of the conspiracy theories phenomenon. Most of the realtime comments were supportive of his decision to talk about this, but there was one viewer who said, in so many words, “let’s talk about something else”. Several people, including me, disagreed with this commenter. It is not by ignoring things, especially things this serious, that they will go away. Of course I am horrified by what happened in Washington last week. But I am even more horrified by the reasons behind it and the reactions of too many people. By the comparisons to the riots of the summer by BLM supporters, who actually were fighting for a valid cause, not some made-up baseless unproven debunked claims of massive voter fraud and stolen elections. I am sad at seeing so many people fall for that garbage, as they fell -- twice!! -- for the sad excuse for a human being that promised to Make America Great Again. I am saddened by the breakdown of one of the world’s most admired countries, and by the self-serving individuals in office who claim to be there for the people but who are really there for their own advancement. I will never understand how they could not see what he was, or how they did see it, but thought it was still right to vote him in, and to continue to support him and encourage his lies by not calling them out. How did they think it would end? And worse, given the chance to condemn their failed leader’s actions through impeachment, too many still chose to support him and his lies, wrapping themselves in procedural arguments, refusing to see reality even though they themselves witnessed it first hand, and were put in harm’s way during the failed coup. Sadly, I predicted a long time ago that the only way the deep divide in the US would end would be a Civil War. And this was before QAnon added their vile ingredients to the poison soup. I hope I was wrong, but am afraid I am right. It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of so much division and hate. But, to paraphrase the Dalai Lama, if you think that as an individual you are too small and insignificant to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito! There may be no point arguing with conspiracy theorists, but we can try sympathy and understanding. Stay kind in your discussions and encourage kindness in others. Every little bit helps. I wish my southern neighbors a safe and speedy recovery. It will not be easy to restore trust to so many who have been lied to for so long. That’s it for now. Next week I will find an easier, but certainly not more important, subject to talk about. Be well, be kind, be part of the solution. P.S. If you are curious about how QAnon works and how they could make so many people believe so many lies, there is a very interesting explanation at https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5 But be warned, it is quite discouraging.
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AuthorMy name is Claire Bureau. Archives
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