4) create complicity 5) activate resentment and frustration …Etc. Epstein uses all these tactics. I think they are ultimately very similar to con-artist tactics—‘I’ve got a great deal. You will get something for nothing. You’ve been overlooked! But we could both get in trouble.’ Etc.

discussing this with my sister once, she said very wisely that it's good to learn to sit with cognitive dissonance. there's value to being able to say, I love this art made by a shitty person. there's value to holding those two truths without trying to make them resolve.

"actually his stuff was very Derivative and not Original" like, you don't have to do this. it is good for us all to sit with the cognitive dissonance that a very bad person can make very good art. it is good for us to work through the moral ramifications of that.

I wrote a piece on this open.substack.com/pub/asharang...