Moral Dilemma

I'm a writer. As an author, I'm always looking for publications where I can place my work.

Recently, it came to my attention that a certain author sponsors a magazine that pays professional rates and which also publishes the kinds of fiction that I write. Pretty neat, eh?

Unfortunately, no.

This author holds and promotes religious, political, and moral philosophies that I find not only horrifying, but totally wrong-headed and beyond the borders of evil. I mentioned this to some other writer pals who basically had one question:

"Does the publication overtly express the author's ideas and philosophies that so bother you?"

Well...looking at the publication, I have to say that I didn't see much in there that I found objectionable. There might be material in it that does promote these things, but I didn't see it at first reading.

"Then go ahead and submit," they tell me.

But, frankly, I'm left with a further problem. I just don't want to be in the company of this writer, whom I feel to be quite a loathsome individual. Whose ideas and beliefs are actually monstrous, to my way of thinking.

So, for now, I'm tending to forget about this market as a place where I would want to be seen. It could be construed as some kind of approval of certain philosophies that I think are not only wrong, but harmful.

I was reminded of the fact that my first professional payment for a story was from funds provided by Dave Sim, whose own political and sexual philosophies I find to be execrable. Of course I didn't know what kinds of poisons were in that monster's head in those days, and so I excuse myself that sale on that account.

At any rate, I should be out hiking. But the job was hard on me this week, and I just didn't have the energy to wake up early enough to head into the mountains. Ah, the life of a laborer and part-time author. Jove.