Personal essays
On separating the art from the artist
Groceries
For years John Mackey, the then CEO of Whole Foods, would post anonymously about his rival Wild Oats.
At the time that this was revealed we had a Wild Oats and a Whole Foods near us and Kim said she would never buy anything at Whole Foods.
She didn’t mind the comments that Mackey made about his competitor but she thought he was ridiculous for posting things about himself in the third person referring to his own good looks.
And then Whole Foods bought Wild Oats.
I did and do most of our grocery shopping from a local business, but there were some things I liked buying at Whole Foods now that our local food Co-op had closed.
I mostly supported Kim’s buying decisions but I just didn’t care that Mackey had done it.
She was a very morally motivated shopper and wouldn’t go into the stores. For her there was no separation between the person and the product.
MJ
A friend and I met for dinner in London recently and a Michael Jackson song started playing.
“He’s the best,” my friend said.
I nodded but added, “it’s complicated.”
I’ve been listening to his music for nearly sixty years. He was a year older than me and I remember him as a young kid singing with his brothers. We’d listen to the forty-fives and albums after lunch in school.
“I want you back,” “ABC”, “The love you save”, and “I’ll be there.”
It was the Jackson 5 but mainly it was Michael.
And then the solo career. So many highlights and the iconic release of “Thriller” in the early 80’s. A bunch of college friends gathered for New Years after we had graduated and a focal point was the video from “Thriller” which MTV played every couple of hours.
There was the Motown 25th celebration where Jackson returned to play with his brothers and also debuted the moonwalk during his solo performance of “Billie Jean”.
I mention this to illustrate that I’d been listening to Jackson for a good part of my life when we first heard about the odder sides of him.
Jackson didn’t help things. Chris Rock described Michael showing up in court dressed like Captain Crunch.
So it’s complicated.
I don’t turn Jackson off if his song pops up on a playlist, but I also don’t seek him out.
His sister? I’m done with her. When she said that she’d heard that Kamala Harris’ father was really white, repeated it, and doubled down on it - I was done with her.
Why?
I couldn’t tell you.
What her brother was accused of was much worse than that.
It’s complicated.
Politics
I can list a bunch of people I can separate from their art and a bunch of people I can’t.
I used to love to listen to Bill Cosby. I can’t anymore.
I used to find Louis CK’s take on things interesting. I don’t anymore.
Sometimes I can’t separate the art from the artist.
Five years ago I thought Musk was just a nut. I had a Twitter account and a Tesla Model 3.
Then he revealed himself to be who he is. I sold the car and abandoned my account.
I have many friends who didn’t.
I’ll ride in their Tesla’s, I just won’t own one. I don’t lecture them. I don’t even think they need to be lectured - the decision is theirs and it doesn’t bother me that we’ve come to different decisions.
For some, it’s too expensive a decision. It’s the car they own and like and it’s too expensive to sell it and buy something different.
For others, it’s the Whole Foods guy - what Musk says and posts has nothing to do with the car they drive.
I feel differently about Twitter.
A social network thrives because of accumulation of our posts and the attention we give it.
We are keeping it alive and I wish we wouldn’t.
Sure, it was once an important place where we exchanged thoughts and information. Sure, no other place has risen to take its place. But I wish we wouldn’t contribute to keeping it relevant.
It’s difficult when people who produce things we love turn out to be problematic.
I have one more thought - and it’s not a mature thought yet, I just want to float it.
What if I’ve been misunderstanding some folks who are going to vote for Trump.
Not the MAGA faithful who believe and repeat what he says but the ones who don’t care for what he says but are going to vote for him anyway. The ones who went to Jackson’s trial to support him. They weren’t supporting pedophiles - they were supporting the man whose music they loved.
What if these Trump voters view him as the Whole Foods guy and not as the Twitter guy?
They don’t care what he says - they like what they think the product is and I’m not going to convince them otherwise.
What if it’s complicated?
Essay from Dim Sum Thinking Newsletter 237. Read the rest of the Newsletter or subscribe