I’m sure there are lots of things we could each pick out that we consider to be bothersome. Some days you’ll feel like nothing will be able to shake you and on others you will find everything to be an irritant. However, what I’m looking at here is the grander scale. I’m thinking about those things that require effort to change.
I was recently having a chat with some readers and they were discussing characters of mine who they found completely abhorrent. As an author this is great news. Whether it’s the good, the bad of the ugly you always want to get a reaction from your reader. I have written characters that have done some of the most despicable things. Was it the torture? Was it the cold blooded murder? Was it the ruthless ambition? Nope. It was casual racism that crowned the most horrific.
It made me realise, racism, sexism and many other isms and phobias are what bothers me. Writing characters with these horrible traits is my way of showing readers how ridiculous it sounds. It’s farcical most times and it demonstrates how little respect I offer people with these kinds of views. The characters I instill with these traits will either learn their lesson eventually or will be sorry they didn’t (no spoilers).
It’s one think I would like to change in this world and it is something that bothers me a great deal. Why someone should be judged on race, colour, sexuality, gender identity just completely baffles me when there are far more important things we could be working on. I hate to hear these kind of views. I was in a shop just the other day when a man behind me started yelling about some franchise owners being anti catholic, how he hated bigots and they should all be taken out and shot. Nothing provoked this comment. We weren’t even in the shop he was referring to. He didn’t seem to see the irony of his statement about hating bigots being, well, highly bigoted in its sentiment. Take them out and shoot them? What does that solve?
Unfortunately I can’t delete this kind of sentiment from the world. What I can do is point out how ridiculous it sounds when I hear it. The man in the shop was a little taken aback when no one took him up on his views and I myself laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. Maybe next time he will think twice before puffing his chest out and spout hatred. If he truly believes some corporation is anti catholic then form a picket line, submit your complaints or boycott the damn shop. In the meantime I’ll continue to air these frustrations through fiction.
Enjoy this? Check out these thriller titles available now.
You can get all the latest updates from the Coldford Daily by subscribing to the VW newsletter.