Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
It’s a blue, cold Thursday in January and I’m walking down Rugby Road on the first night of fraternity rush at the University of Virginia, brushing past groups of identical gossiping boys in matching preppy outfits: fleeces, checked oxfords, khakis, boots. “Excuse me,” they say politely when our coats touch, then turn back to each…
There is a need these days for a strong liberal argument against the tendency of some on the left to lean on silencing and censorship instead of vigorous argumentation. Sadly, Jonathan Chait’s recent piece for New York, titled “Not A Very P.C. Thing To Say,” was not it. While the article purports to be a…
So, here is sad white man Jonathan Chait’s essay about the difficulty of being a white man in the second age of “political correctness.” In a neat bit of editorial trolling, New York teased the column with following question: “Can a white, liberal man critique a culture of political correctness?” The answer, as anyone with…
God forbid no one care that your feelings were hurt by a woman calling you a sexist after you called her a bitch. Photograph: Bill Varie/Corbis When a writer like New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait feels it necessary to whine in print about his and other (mostly well-remunerated) writers’ inability to write offensive tripe without…
To say I stood up and cheered as I finished reading Jon Chait’s new essay on the resurgence of a toxic political correctness on the left would be an understatement. There’s some great reporting in it that really helps put into context what the new guardians of the identity politics left are up to. Here’s…
As intended, Jonathan Chait’s denunciation of the “PC language police” – a trite note of self-victimization he’s been sounding for decades – provoked intense reaction: much criticism from liberals and praise from conservatives (with plenty of exceptions both ways). I have all sorts of points I could make about his argument – beginning with how he tellingly focuses on the…
Reasons You Were Not Promoted That are Totally Unrelated to Gender. You don’t smile enough. People don’t like you. You smile too much. People don’t take you seriously. You’re abrasive, for example that time when you asked for a raise. It was awkward and you made the men on the senior leadership team uncomfortable. You…
The PC Police are coming Chaiters Gonna Chait — The Nib — Medium.
Jonathan Chait’s new feature forNew York Magazine is called “Trigger Warning,” and it’s got a big old floppy dek: Can a white male liberal critique the country’s current political-correctness craze (which, by the way, hurts liberals most)? We’re sure you’ll let us know. The answer to this exquisitely slippery question is, of course: yes! A…
When New York magazine teased Jonathan Chait’s coming opus on race, politics and free speech last Friday – “Can a white liberal man critique a culture of political correctness?” — the hook alone was enough to send his Twitter haters into multiple ragegasms. I thought folks should save themselves some grief and at least wait…