[Rembrandt_fan]

Quit with the personal attacks against me and address the argument. In case you've forgotten, I argue that Webb's fiction should not be used as ammunition against him in a political campaign.

There is the exception, of course, should his books be a thinly veiled vehicles intended to advance his political or philosophical views--the authors Ayn Rand and Sinclair Lewis spring immediately to mind--but Webb has a reputation as a serious writer of serious fiction, based largely on his novel, 'Fields of Fire'. He isn't known as a pornographer or--based on any evidence I know of--as a proponent of child molestation.

A writer describing a horrific act or presenting characters who do terrible things does not mean that writer champions those acts or ascribes to the views of the characters he or she creates. Attacking a writer's character on the basis of such scenes, however repugnant those scenes might be to a given reader, or--for that matter-- however badly written, does a disservice to the author, however much one may disagree with his political viewpoint. Go after Webb on the basis of his words and actions as a public and political person, not on the basis of the fiction he writes.

That's the argument I'm making. If you think you can refute it, by all means try.

[syriacus]

Attacking a writer's character on the basis of such scenes, however repugnant those scenes might be to a given reader, or--for that matter-- however badly written, does a disservice to the author,

Is it necessarily a "disservice" for people to say how they feel about this?

If there's nothing wrong in what Webb has written, why should he mind an honest discussion of his work?

[AmishDude]

If I recall correctly, a certain LAPD detective was completely villified and discredited for having "used" the so-called N-word in the development of a fiction book.