How to Address Criticism for Written Works

I once received a comment responding to an online article I published that said, "You suck at writing. Find another job." What had infuriated me so much about this comment that was posted was not that this individual was being obnoxious and unnecessarily insulting. Everyone can be insulting and should be free to offend another if they feel like it. That way more individuals can stand up for themselves, or even avoid other people who they have nothing in common with.

Also, specific people who just enjoy insulting others can get their own just-desserts when they're cruel enough to be offensive towards handicapped people or persons from different ethnicities or sexual orientations. (I should mention; Yes, I'm a bigot; But only inasmuch that I'm bigoted against jerks. No, I don't adore everyone. If you like to torture puppies, rob sweet old ladies, or kick innocent children down the stairs: Well, I hate you. [Even if I'm in an awkward position where it's only appropriate to be civil with you.] Deal with it.)

I was offended by the fact that the comment-offender could tell me something that could've helped me. Sun-Tzu (author of "The Art Of War") had said, "Trust your adversaries over your friends, because they have more to prove to you than your friends." Who better to give you feedback than those that have a bone to pick with you? The best that could happen for you is that the one(s) giving the criticism will stop being annoyed by the habits that irk your family, boyfriend, or spouse.

(Then again; Individuals could just like to verbally or emotionally torture you, because they are unemployed and lack skill or talent. That's usually the case when you only get further ambiguous and over-generalized insults in response to your attempts at receiving feedback.)

Additionally, when, "Your writing sucks," is the sole feedback that I hear it leads me to believe either one of two things:

1) What I am writing is not your cup of tea, in which case you have no reason to exercise any amount of expendable energy to tell me that you don't find my works aesthetically pleasing (unless you're a professional critic and need to tell the masses what sucks about my writing for your work-assignment).

Or

2) You are generalizing what I do, but replacing the generalization, "You suck," with, "Your writing sucks."

You are free to believe that "I suck." If that's the case, thinking that I suck would be better for the coexistence of the both of us, rather than pretending that you enjoy my company when my lifestyle bores you. (Talk about awkward.)

The latter definition I gave of, "Your writing sucks," makes no sense in regards to criticism of my works. If one claims to be criticizing my works, the works are beside-the-point of criticism about me as a person.

That leaves a question that would be one of the riddles best suited for The Architect from the film "The Matrix Reloaded":

"If you believe that The Writer's works 'suck', then why can you not explain what makes them 'suck'? How could you have taken five or ten seconds of your life to say that The Writing 'sucks,' when there was no particular reason that you could give to explain how or why the works 'suck'? Somehow, and for some reason, you were compelled to say that these works 'suck'; which would provide a necessity for explaining the urgent 'sucking.' But, alas, the urgency was not met with a reason to alert The Writer that his writing 'sucks.' This could only mean that you were compelled by this glitch in The Program. The Glitch, perhaps, would be produced by you simply not liking something aesthetically. Hence, You would have no rhyme or reason to explain The Writer's method of 'sucking' other than being inadvertently infected with a compulsion to waste five to ten seconds of your life and reward The Writer with your attention as if under a magical spell."

My sentiments about generalizing artists' works are similar to my opinions on artists such as Boyd Rice (who continues to front for the band NON, and who had directed the cult classic art-movie "Black Sun"). Boyd's idolization of Charles Manson and sympathy for white supremacists is, in my opinion, completely insane and retarded. (I especially feel that way, because my grandfather on my father's side of the family was Jewish.)

Of course I do believe Boyd Rice's music is quite beautiful. I feel that his music is beautiful in aesthetics as well as function/arrangement. Since I like his music, but am not sympathetic to his philosophy, all I can speak for is his music itself.

But; If I met Boyd Rice in person and he started talking about his beliefs, I could see myself being so offended that I'd state, "Well, your music sucks." If I'm not offended or meaning to offend anyone, I don't really see any reason to give feedback that isn't polite or constructive.

I'm reminded further of another example of a writer at Powell's bookstore in Portland who had some very controversial opinions that were expressed in a book that he was writing.

I'm not going to name any names, except to say that he was writing for a prominent newspaper on behalf of white-washing some controversial issues that were going on between the U. S. and another foreign nation.

The point is that even though the audience could not stand the opinions that he had expressed under the duress of a publisher that he had worked for, they were all surprisingly polite and conscious of asking questions or making comments on the material.

It was helpful for him, because he could go back and learn from that constructive feedback, while, "You suck," means close to nothing other than the person coming to that conclusion is a jerk whose faculties of reasoning are impaired by something that would have the same effect as a lobotomy.

Please; Internet trolls, critics, friends, bosses, and acquaintances, be constructive when you say someone's work "sucks". Give artists such as myself a reason to improve our works later if you really have a reason to be opinionated on our jobs.