Links for 2011-06-08

"What I can't relate to as I read the defenses written by Powers and Barthel is the implicit denial that anything might offend them. This is where the argument that morality always should (or can) be kept separate from artistic judgments falls apart for me, because while I instinctively side with the Non-Moralists, I know there are times when I must switch sides. It's difficult for me to believe that we all don't switch sides from time to time. This is not easy to admit, because acknowledging that something offends you seems like an admission of weakness or, worse, a sign that you might actually care about something enough to be angered when it is besmirched, even in the realm of pretend. But what's the alternative? Being so aloof from genuine human experience that your soul is untouched by involuntary yet profound, immovable, and indignant emotional responses? Where's the so-called "danger" in art if you're never the one who's outraged?"