Taken a liking, send help
From Slate’s Dear Prudence advice column:
Q. Quietly listening: Against my social circle’s better judgment, I’ve taken a liking to a controversial writer/podcaster. There are many accusations lobbed against him, but never any receipts, and his viewpoints are often mischaracterized. As a trans woman, I disagree with him about some things but I’ve never heard him say anything wildly unreasonable.
I’m torn. I understand if people don’t want to support him, but does that mean I have to stop? After reading the accusations against him, I personally find a lot of the backlash against him overblown. I enjoy his podcast, and I feel a little guilty pleasure when I listen to it. I won’t support all his endeavors—he is a bit much—but is it that terrible if I review the charges against him and continue to keep up with him quietly?
I’m at a loss to understand what is the point of this question. Does the fact that some people disapprove of writer X mean I or you or we have to stop reading writer X? Is that a trick question? How could it possibly even on a good day and with a helping wind mean that? No, Confused in Tulsa or whatever your name is, of course it doesn’t mean that. There is nothing on the planet that isn’t disapproved of by someone, and we can’t decide what we want to read on the basis of “some of my friends think ew.”
My bit of Twitter is saying X is Jesse Singal, but it’s probably one of Katie Herzog’s jokes.
Sadly, it really does mean exactly that to some people because it’s a schoolyard bullying tactic that is retained along with so much infantile behaviour and thinking by those unable or unwilling to become properly adult, or who want the benefits of adulthood but want to keep the freedom from responsibility that comes with childhood. So you can’t be in our gang/group if you talk to that person we don’t like becomes you’re not one of us if you listen to or read that person that we see as the enemy.
Dear Prudence, I have taken a liking to this English writer; he’s dead now, but I love his writing, and his style. My family and many people I’ve never met but that have email addresses and websites and Twitter accounts say tons of things against him, and that he is evil. As a scientist, I sometimes disagree with him (I mean, seriously, he died in the nineteenth century, you know?) but I have read his work and find that the arguments against him are overblown. I was wondering, should I continue reading him and making up my own mind, or listen to the judgments of people who have never read his work? They tell me God has condemned him, so maybe…
Signed,
Guilty of reading Darwin
Yes, of course it does. If writer X weren’t someone to be shunned, then people wouldn’t be shunning X, would they? If you don’t agree that X should be shunned, then there is something morally deficient about you. If actually—and heaven hope this is not the case—think that X shouldn’t be shunned, then you are a horrible person who should be canceled, and you need to have every part of your life shredded so that you understand what violence your ideas have done to marginalized folx. This will surely bring healing to the world. You might even be cleansed of (some of) your taint.
Bigot.
Dear Prudence, I have examined the claims made about a person and found them to be empty. Should I cave to peer pressure and join the shunning of someone I know to be unfairly accused?
Goddamn coward.
Dear Prudence;
I just bought this pair of socks…
Dear Prudence,
Against my social circle’s better judgment, I’ve taken a liking to a controversial writer. There are many accusations lobbed against her, but never any receipts, and her viewpoints are often mischaracterized. As a woman, I disagree with her about some things, but I’ve never heard her say anything wildly unreasonable.
I’m torn. I understand if people don’t want to support her, but does that mean I have to stop? After reading the accusations against her, I personally find a lot of the backlash against her overblown. I enjoy her books, and I feel a little guilty pleasure when I buy them, own them and read them. I won’t necessarily support all her endeavors, but is it that terrible if I review the charges against her and continue to read her and support her? I ♡ JKR