separate the art from the artist

people love judging others. the accountability people place on others can sometimes be more than they place on themselves. it's easy to cut slack for someone who is "rootable." it's hard to make excuses for someone you disagree with. this is only because you are human. it's so easy to let emotions dictate how you feel about someone you don't have an attachment with. but there's a reason for the saying "there's something to learn from everyone." this piece isn't meant to support bad actors. but rather that someone can be bad, the thing that they did is bad, but they can still possess achievements and feats worth studying. they don't have to be publicly celebrated or acknowledged, but you can still recognize it. it's funny how we idolize the greatest people to be perfect people. no one is perfect. steve jobs is celebrated as one of the most prolific visionaries in history, but the person he was and actions he took were often cruel. that doesn't erase what he built. and what he built doesn't erase how he treated people. both things can be true. learning from someone's work doesn't mean endorsing their character. dismissing their work because of their character means losing lessons that could matter. separate the art from the artist. take what's useful. leave what isn't.