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Originally Posted by HarryT
There's a difference between saying "It's bad that early 20th century American society was racist" and "It's bad that H.P. Lovecraft was racist". Of course he was: he grew up in that society. So yes, I do think that he can be "excused" for holding attitudes that were the norm in his society; it would have been surprising had he not done so.
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Again; "of course he was: he grew up in that society" implies that there was no other choice. That he--nor anyone raised in that same society--could possibly have grown up to be anything but a racist. How do you explain many of Lovecraft's contemporaries releasing works that didn't blatantly reveal their ever-so-"normal" racist upbringing?
It seems to me that many authors raised during periods of time when ignorant racism ran rampant managed to write books that didn't "expose their upbringing." So many that it seems odd to me that we're wiling to excuse the few who couldn't.