The only thing that's changed about artists and people in power is that we now know a lot more about their beliefs and personal lives than we used to. One thing that hasn't changed is that everybody has skeletons in their closet and is the hero in their own story.
As such, and given that I don't seek out salacious details about people I'll never meet, so long as their irrelevant-to-the-content/product personal views don't filter into what they produce, I tend to be unaware of anything else about them.
There are of course exceptions, with Musk being at the top of the list. But as I'm not in an income bracket that would let me avail myself of any of his products, it's still largely irrelevant.
And the further back you go in someone's history to find dirt, the more likely they've changed. I'd hate to be judged now by some of my early columns in college when I was in my edgy atheist libertarian raver phase, so I'm inclined to give others a pass on adolescent musings.
With more recent stuff, as people let more of their personality into their crafted public personas, it's not all that difficult to deduce whether their worldview is going to be offensive. But commerce overall is not about whether I'd enjoy grabbing a beer with someone so much as whether their product fulfills a need.
I hate the history thing. People still go after Brendan Eich for donating $1000 to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign in 2008. Prop 8 passed with 52.24% of the vote, over 7-million California voters probably including many that people still like (thanks secret ballot). It was thrown out by courts, nothing to do with people being moral.
That's not to say he's a good guy I agree with, he's said and done other things much more recently that I don't agree with, like his stance on COVID, but Prop 8 is always the number one thing people mention.
Edit: even later on in this thread. People should boycott anything made in California if that one donation is such a painful thing.
Kagi is hard because it is so very much better than any alternative I have tried. I don’t like the guy’s views but it would substantially impact something I do for work and pleasure dozens of times every day to give it up, so I’m really struggling with that.
First off, the kagi news is a bummer. I've really liked it and picked up a subscription mostly because of some buzz I saw around here, but seeing this news is a shame and setting up some red flags in my mind.
But to answer your question, I think I personally have a couple ways I approach this...
If the evidence someone is transphobic, racist, etc...is from a long time ago (eg someone is digging up ancient tweets to prove someone is some sort of "-ist" today), I tend to give them more grace because people should be allowed to change. I know I didn't have great views on some of this stuff when I was younger and it's easy to forget these celebrities/people in power are fallible human beings. I'll take their response to unearthing these views as a sign of whether or not they're worth supporting going forward. If they're regretful and seem like they're trying to do better, I'm good. The kagi creator seems to not pass this standard for me.
If it's something I want to use/consume and it could impact more than just the individual. JK Rowling is a good example of this. I'd struggle to want to buy any of her books again because I see a clearer line of sight from my purchase to her pocket. But something like Hogwarts Legacy, which I knew I would enjoy and my wife would love, and is made by many people with a passion for her world, I'm OK with it. The line to Rowling is a lot blurrier and impacts people who don't have a say in what project(s) they work on.
It's also easier to ignore or skip smaller scale things like an indie game from a deplorable developer vs. the next Marvel/HP/insert your beloved franchise game from someone equally deplorable. None of this is ever perfect and time and attention are finite resources for all of us. If Harry Potter is how you need to unwind because it's your favorite thing, more power to you. It's not my job nor anyone else's to police the things you like or make you feel bad for liking them.
We should all do our best to try and support good people in a system that incentivizes bad people and give ourselves some grace when we (seemingly inevitably these days) find out those people were actually scum.
I think there's something to be said about timeframe even for individuals who held deplorable views. Purchasing art from a dead artist doesn't go to supporting their life or spreading their shitty viewpoint - instead it will go to a company which holds the rights or an estate which benefits the family. Unless we happen to know the company/estate is deplorable in some way or another, we shouldn't judge them based on the connection with the original artist - after all we don't get to choose our parents and may not hold the same views they do.
100%. And going down that path you can start to enter into the whole "OK, so all companies are bad or do bad things, but I also need to be a functioning member of society."
I can hate what Shell/Marathon/BP are doing to the environment but I also need to make sure my car gets me to work. Google or Apple can enact terrible policies I disagree with but generally speaking I have to deal with them to have a cell phone. Easier when we're discussing a piece of artwork (not a core need in life) but it's where my comment about a system that incentivizes "bad people" really came from.
So I think my moral philosophy is actually closest to show The Good Place now that I see it written out!
Quite a bit as I've always found it difficult to separate the artist from the art.
I've never read any of HP (it was "witchcraft" and "of the devil" when I was growing up in the bible belt lol), but all the unenlightened opinions from JKR really don't inspire me to give her any of my money, so I doubt I'll be reading it just to see what all the fuss was about.
Even shows/books that I used to like, once I learn the author / actor / whatever is kind of a trash person, it just ruins the experience for me.
I refuse to use the Brave browser, and I was prepared to abandon Firefox, over then-CEO Brendan Eich's $1000 donation in support of California's proposition 8 (banning same-sex marriage). I will never forgive the supporters of that proposition. I will not knowingly support their businesses.
I've lost all respect for Scott Adams (of the Dilbert comic strip) and Kelsey Grammar (Frasier actor). Their continued support for Donald Trump is damning.
Thanks for the input, all! I've had a bunch of the more 'obvious' ones down, but there are a few that I hadn't heard of (like CASA and Feeding America, who I have 'equivalents' to but will likely diversify out to), or hadn't thought to contribute to (Propublica, UNHCR). Good stuff, everybody.
Could nation-states just, for a day, not bomb one another? Houthis hit ships. Ships hit back. Iran hits...seemingly anyone nearby? Pakistan says, "Hold my Lassi" and lobs a few rockets back. Could we maybe, just take a deep breath, and chill?
Anyways, found out I got a hole in my knee meniscus exposing bone. I guess if we keep escalating these little tit-for-tat attacks I won't have to worry about it for too long.
Up until yesterday, I was doing better, but last two days have been weird.
It'd be nice if I get a full week of "chill" at some point. Well, "chill" as in "good vibes", not the weather that some of you in the northern hemisphere are dealing with (although, it's surprisingly cold where I am today, despite it being the middle of summer).
Also, I'm sick of searching for headphones. Like legitimately tired of it. I don't need perfect, but I need a good compromise between comfort and sound that I can vibe with, which seems to be fucking impossible for me. Probably because of sensory issues, but also because everyone hears shit differently, so reviews are generally pointless.
Edit, 11 hours later: Lol, I feel okay now. Think I just woke up to a bunch of bullshit. Gonna go watch some Sonic Prime and hopefully get a decent rest after that.
I'm a member of Amnesty International, and I've sponsored kids through Plan Canada for about 10 years. I used to be a professional fundraiser, and those two really struck a chord with me.
UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and MSF (Medicines Sans Frontieres) are ones I used to work with, and they both do great work too.
In Canada all registered charities are audited annually. Their financials are available online for you to review.
My local food bank is my favorite place to donate and volunteer at. My friend also works as a CASA so I donate to them as well (link is for the national organization, but they're may be a local group you can donate to directly). Other than that, look around your area for local nonprofits. There are lots of local charities that work with kids, help solve local problems, etc that can always use some financial help. There are several organizations that you can go to if you want to vet and check on the charities to make sure they're legit.
I donate to a local group that provides housing for homeless youth. Before donating, always check where the money actually goes - there's a few good websites for this that breaks down the org's budget for CEO pay, marketing, etc.
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