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I wrote this long-ass essay about the anti/anti-anti discourse but realized that the whole thing boils down to “I do not trust your ability to make complex moral judgments and there is no reason for you to trust mine”
a sort of blind hubris is required to engage in the moral aspects of that argument. That is, we must pretend we know things we do not, and usually cannot, know: does the good of this act outweigh the potential harm, or vice-versa?
I can only know these things as they relate to me, so it is reasonable for me to say, *I* think this is gross, or this unpleasant thing helps *ME* feel understood and less alone.
Acting as if we know how fiction will affect the majority of people exposed to it requires a wealth of assumptions I am not comfortable making. As in, “shit, I don’t fucking know.” And neither do you!
A powerful argument I never see made is, “it’s not up to you.” It isn’t up to me if my characters make you uncomfortable. It isn’t up to you whether I can make that content or not.