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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Merlion" data-source="post: 3129770" data-attributes="member: 10397">First, I want to thank you for your contributions to this discussion, and my little journey of understanding. Next, you are partially right. My views in this are influenced by my belief that all people have value and worth and potential. Also my belief that the creative pursuits...storytelling in all its forms, visual art such as painting or sculpting, and music, to be excellent and respected ways of expressing that worth and potential. Now, I do not believe that people who dismiss artistic works are neccesarily dismissing the person (although I do have to engage the intellectual part of me, some times, to do that, as the emotional part may some times tend to see it that way).   However, I do think that degrading a work and declaring it worthless for all and sundry is, first of all automatically incorect since some will find worth in it, and secondly does seem to show a lack of respect for the effort put into it. I also feel that the notion that some peoples opinions (and when I say opinions, I mean opinions about artistic works, or other subjective opinions...yes a car mechanics "opinion" on whats wrong with you car is probably going to be better than say a butchers, but that isnt really an opinion, its simply knowledge) are better than others, or that the opinion of a larger group of people outweighs the opinion of a smaller group of people or an individual, again especially in artistic, aethestic matters, is one that CAN lead down a rather dangerous road. I'm not neccesarily saying that anyone here is a horrible elitist or thinks some people are better than others or whatever. But the issues mentioned above do certainly inform my take on this discussion. And there is a certain amount of elitism that has gotten built into our culture that must be dealt with. Also while I fully support everyones right to express their opinion on a work of art, I don't believe they have the right to state that a work is bad and worthless for everyone and anyone who doesnt agree is just ignorant. Nor do I think they have the right to be nasty, rude or unpleasant when expressing that opinion.Or even if they have the "right" do to so, it is distasteful, and is likely to bring about a negative reaction.</blockquote>

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