Conflict Of Interest

Angst has been changed, a little. Chan didn’t like the picture of her—she thought it was ugly, and wanted it removed. She also thinks I shouldn’t use her image on my site, shouldn’t be telling anybody that I still think about her, or that she’s on my mind at all—even though she’s my friend. I wonder how writers / painters / poets / other artists get away with using the people in their lives in their art. Do they wait until those people aren’t a part of their life anymore? That’s not something I particularly want to happen with Chan: I don’t want her to leave my life so that I can use her image anytime I want. Anyway, it is her picture, and she has a right to object to its use. I fully respect that, I have no problem with that, and I won’t bring up the subject again.

I guess I should just stick to socio-political and religio-philosophical art, and avoid these conflicts of interest altogether. Who needs another character writer, anyway? Personal issues are so… personal. The only thing they do is increase the pain and personal agony of a reader who is already experiencing those emotions. Love songs don’t heal the wounds of saddened lovers; they only make their scars fresh. Dirges aren’t created out of a desire to help others, they are created out of an irresistable (as in unable to resist) need for self-expression. Either that, or money.

EOL