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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s ridiculous that anyone would take Larson’s side. 
She plagiarized. What else is there to say?
And all these writers are defending it?
Is this how they all write? They just mooch off of unknown writers? They seem so blasé about it, they must all do it.[/quote]

I think Larson took advantage of Dorland, but this post misunderstands how creative writers think about this. I don’t personally think what Larson did in terms of taking inspiration (or even borrowing text) from Dorland is outside the realm of ok for a writer. You can take inspiration from wherever and I don’t even think liberal borrowing from a source material is wrong, necessarily (though personall I would only take actual text from something I felt comfortable citing in a postscript, so I would never do what Larson did).

The issue for me is entirely interpersonal. If Larson and her friends didn’t like Dorland, that’s fine! Don’t pretend you do then. You don’t have to be mean, but don’t be solicitous, either. The problem is that in communities like this, people are users. They want people like Dorland to buy their books, take their classes and workshops, say complimentary things in social media, etc. So they will be friendly to their faces, claim friendship, all while making fun of them in private with their “real” writer friends.

I HATE this dynamic, it’s two faced and opportunist. It gets worse all the time because everyone is trying to amass more followers and gain more popularity within this insular community. People are fake, constantly. And people like Dorland get caught in the middle of that and I find it ethically and morally gross. You can be an artist and make art that might offend and provoke. That doesn’t mean you can just lie to people about it and expect there to be no consequences. The whole point of being a brave artist is that you accept the consequences, including that some people might dislike you, that they might be hurt, that they might ignore you and unfollow you.

Larson wanted to be an artist AND be popular. Those things are at odds. I can’t respect that. And I don’t think someone who lies and prevaricated about their art deserves my respect either. Just own it![/quote]

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