Perfect is a myth. Happily Ever After is a fairy tale. Our world is an imperfect sphere inhabited by imperfect beings. Religions remind us constantly that we are not perfect, that we are indeed imperfect, some going as far as demanding we acknowledge being sinners. Whether one believes in Religion in general or any specific religion in particular is another matter, but the basic notion that we are fundamentally flawed and seek to be better preceded and laid the groundwork for Religion, Art and even Government. Part of that struggle to be better requires us to first acknowledge our imperfections.
We recently received several comments from readers concerned about the short story “WACKodemics” by Mick McGrath. Some demanded the story be taken down; some accused this publication of perpetuating the philosophies of “angry, entitled white men;” and some expressed concern that publishing the story would compromise safety on a college campus. We have great respect for our readers as well as our artists because the philosophy of this magazine has always been that they are one and the same. Thus, we felt compelled to seriously consider the comments and concerns and to offer a thoughtful, if imperfect, response.
In the Good Morning Mr. Magpie column of this Summer 2020 Issue 10 (https://thievingmagpie.org/summer-of-action/), we stated that the myth of Utopia and our imperfections are the “theme” of this issue – the main point.
The goal of every artist is to poke at our imperfections; examine them, question them, lampoon them, fictionalize them – partly out of fear, partly out of curiosity, partly out of that genuine attempt to be better and make our world less imperfect. The willingness to do this “dirty work” is what makes the Artist a vulnerable yet courageous member of society. In Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment the main character, unreliable and unstable Raskolnikov, contemplated, plotted and carried out the murder of his landlady. In Nabokov’s Lolita the main character, unreliable and unstable Humbert Humbert, gave in to his basest demons and had a cross country sexual affair with a thirteen year old girl. In the mid-70’s screenwriter Paul Schrader – suffering from depression and emotional stress following a divorce from his wife and a breakup with his girlfriend – drew on his life experiences during that down period to write Taxi Driver about an unreliable and unstable narrator named Travis Bickle. The song “Hey Joe” – a rock/folk standard for sixty years, performed by musicians of all genres throughout the world – is a song about an unreliable and unstable man who shot his wife for cheating on him and fled to Mexico.
Each of the heinous acts described in these works of art actually happened in our imperfect world not because they were influenced by the referenced works of art but because we are imperfect. We were killing our landlords, molesting children and going on shooting rampages long before and long after these works were published. And the artists – writers, singers, publishers, directors and producers – who created and disseminated these works were not “celebrating” the vile acts contained in them; they were not “promoting” these unstable characters; they were not “honoring” the twisted philosophies of these imperfect characters. In creating these works, the artists – drawing from within and without – are reflecting our collective imperfections, calling out our collective flaws and exposing our collective sins. These acts are us. We are not above them and they are not beneath us. We are not better than them, though we strive and struggle to be.
Part of our collective struggle toward becoming better includes asking that which we are afraid to ask, questioning that which is supposedly beyond question, examining that which we are told has been sufficiently examined. As the great George Carlin used to say: “Question Everything!” (https://youtu.be/Uo-QIY7ys-k). Art and Education are two places where such questioning has always been encouraged and where students and artists alike are made to feel safe in asking. Most professors start their first class by reminding students of one simple truth: “There are no stupid questions.” In Art and Education all questions must be raised and all ideas must be tested. Sometimes they fail; sometimes they offend; sometimes they don’t – that is the process. Most importantly, in Art and Education there can be no sacred cows because if there were, knowledge would be finite, progress will have hit a wall and the edge of the flat world will have been reached; we would be living in the mythical fairy tale of Perfect.
It is this very gumption to challenge established dogma, this encouragement to ask the offensive question, this sense that it is safe to explore alternate perspectives that is bringing down “sacred” confederate monuments and flags and re-examining our American story and heritage at this very moment! It is debate, dialogue and discomfort that is making change happen before our eyes. To silence it would be a sin that perpetuates, and glorifies, our imperfections.
Mr. McGrath’s short story, “WACKodemics” is a work of fiction. It was presented as such and accepted as such. It was reviewed as an epistolary satire, exploring the unstable mind of a citizen on the fringe of society. We do not concern ourselves with the author’s personal life or autobiographical events that may have influenced the writing of this story any more that we would with Paul Schrader frequenting X-Rated movie theatres before writing Taxi Driver or the fact that Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope was based on the cruel murder of a 14-year old boy by Leopold & Loeb. When we listen to the Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” we don’t consider whether John, Paul, George or Ringo actually considered banging hammers on the heads of women who rejected their advances or teachers who reprimanded them at school – even though those events might have actually happened and influenced the artists.
Readers who are offended or disturbed by the story are free to express those feelings. Artists who are offended or disturbed by it are encouraged to turn those feelings into their work. Mick Jagger was not a happy young man when he wrote about not getting any “Satisfaction” and he wasn’t feeling great when he wrote “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” but was clearly striving to find a better place when he added “But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.” The Blues were not written by happy artists – they wrote of their anguish and angst in order to get through it, to get better.
Either way and with the greatest respect for our readers whom we genuinely cherish, we cannot censor ourselves, we cannot take the story down, we will not make our editorial decisions in this way. Quite frankly, the emails asking us to take the story down came from students and artists and we doubt they would want their own artistic expressions erased because they made some readers uncomfortable. We doubt they would want to live in a world where the only ideas that show up on their screens are the ones that give them a false sense of comfort. The internet is already filthy with sites that peddle the myth of Perfect, of Utopia. We are not that.
Apologies in advance if this is not the response you were hoping for. We hope you keep reading, and contributing, to the Thieving Magpie.