Goodness is No Indicator of Ability

[unspeakablehorror]

I really disagree with the idea that someone can't be an excellent writer or write an intricately crafted work just because they've said or done malicious or even outright evil things. Have seen so many people rightfully denounce writers for something terrible they've said or done and then immediately follow it up with absolutely baseless attacks on the craftmanship or skill of their writing. 

It's one thing to say that a work is not actually unimpacted by its author's ideology and biases, another to assume that has any relevance to the level of skill and artistry applied to it. Even death of the author does not magically sever this connection--in fact death of the author can be one way to interrogate biases of these sorts in a work that the author themselves will deny.

But people should really stop making the assumption that skill and accomplishment is some kind of litmus test for moral goodness. I think this is a very insidious bias that can cause a great deal of harm. A person can do both terrible and wonderful things, and neither forecloses the possibility of the other. It is not a contradiction for the same individual to save one life and extinguish another. A work can be greatly flawed and still be of value. Sometimes the value can even be in obtaining the understanding that evil can come cloaked in great beauty, can be funny and witty and worldly-wise. If evil could be none of these things, if evil could embody no skill, it could not be dangerous.