That bit on Brasillach reminded me of a good friend who was out in Moscow in the early 90s when Taibbi and his crew were running the eXile. He encountered them (not that many Americans in Moscow at the time) but steered clear as he was repulsed by their "frat boys on tour" attitude of playing wanna-be Hunter S Thompsons, but really just fitting into all the worse stereotypes of the colonial dilettante living it up in the barbarian realms. Taibbi seems a very close fit for that vignette of Brasillach. At least at that time. Similar flight path towards the FR these days, also
Having read Taibbi for years, it's hard to see him on the FR. "Griftopia" and its related articles about corporate/government corruption? "Insane Clown President" about Trump? "I Can't Breathe," about the killing of Eric Garner?
Instead, like his fellow "contrarian" Greenwald, he's now best seen as an opponent to an authoritarianism which is feeding off of and competing with the FR fascism of Thiel, Trump, DeSantis etc.
That competing authoritarianism hasn't been defined and named as well as today's fascist tendency on the right is, but generally it's what the plaintiffs in the Missouri v. Biden case were complaining about. Government intervention with tech companies and big media to suppress discourse or inconvenient facts as "misinformation," and to promote favored narratives. It's a nanny-state, HR department kind of authoritarianism.
Both Taibbi and Greenwald were clearly "Bernie Bros," and it's possible that their current stances derive from the blatant suppression of Bernie's campaign in 2016 and the framing of Bernie and his supporters variously as wicked communists and of course, misogynists.
This quote about Brasillach seems to describe the current troll ethos as well, and many Trumpists seem to value the trollish side of Trumpism above its other aspects:
“What was at stake, to him, was the right to lead the eccentric, capricious life. Liberty meant the right to recognize nothing as sacred and to spare no one the criticism that was thought to be merited. The right to scoff, to jeer, was the foundation of all liberty…”
For anyone interested in the internecine disputes within the vintage fashion community: The proclivity to reactionary politics among certain dapper gents has become such a problem that progressive dandies have resorted to wearing badges saying "Vintage style, not vintage values" in protest. https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/vintage-style-not-vintage-values-fashion-community
I had a question for your next mailbag. I have recently made the decision to stop using Twitter both because it kept making me feel shittier and shittier but also out of the ethical considerations that by remaining I was lending my support (however indirectly) to the project of a dangerous billionaire. Not saying that's the right decision for everyone, and I know that for folks who rely on the platform for their livelihoods it's a very different calculus but I was curious to hear how you weigh the ethics of remaining or of eventually leaving the site. Thanks in advance, love your writing.
There’s a bit of creeping fascist-chic happening here in Berkeley. A small cohort of Yarvin-adjacent bohemians, some dabble in Catholicism and most in esoterica. I think they view his politics as gauche but there’s no deeper reckoning occurring that I’ve seen. At a certain point it’s no longer ironic or a winking transgression
All these words. And not a single scrap of actionable advice. We already know how smart you are and that has limited value. We need structures and methodologies that could be projected outward. All of this intellectual introspection is simply staring at our feet and doing little to nothing leaving us at the end in the exact same position we began. If you don’t have a call to, and recommendation for corrective action, analysis is of no value.
As someone who grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh and co., I do not see any substantial difference between the way “woke” is used now and the way “liberal” was used in, say, the 90s. I think it’s just a matter of words getting dulled by overuse and then replaced with a sharper one.
That bit on Brasillach reminded me of a good friend who was out in Moscow in the early 90s when Taibbi and his crew were running the eXile. He encountered them (not that many Americans in Moscow at the time) but steered clear as he was repulsed by their "frat boys on tour" attitude of playing wanna-be Hunter S Thompsons, but really just fitting into all the worse stereotypes of the colonial dilettante living it up in the barbarian realms. Taibbi seems a very close fit for that vignette of Brasillach. At least at that time. Similar flight path towards the FR these days, also
Having read Taibbi for years, it's hard to see him on the FR. "Griftopia" and its related articles about corporate/government corruption? "Insane Clown President" about Trump? "I Can't Breathe," about the killing of Eric Garner?
Instead, like his fellow "contrarian" Greenwald, he's now best seen as an opponent to an authoritarianism which is feeding off of and competing with the FR fascism of Thiel, Trump, DeSantis etc.
That competing authoritarianism hasn't been defined and named as well as today's fascist tendency on the right is, but generally it's what the plaintiffs in the Missouri v. Biden case were complaining about. Government intervention with tech companies and big media to suppress discourse or inconvenient facts as "misinformation," and to promote favored narratives. It's a nanny-state, HR department kind of authoritarianism.
Both Taibbi and Greenwald were clearly "Bernie Bros," and it's possible that their current stances derive from the blatant suppression of Bernie's campaign in 2016 and the framing of Bernie and his supporters variously as wicked communists and of course, misogynists.
This quote about Brasillach seems to describe the current troll ethos as well, and many Trumpists seem to value the trollish side of Trumpism above its other aspects:
“What was at stake, to him, was the right to lead the eccentric, capricious life. Liberty meant the right to recognize nothing as sacred and to spare no one the criticism that was thought to be merited. The right to scoff, to jeer, was the foundation of all liberty…”
Am curious what you thought of the recent Krugman piece on Silicon Valley’s “crazy” and Anil Dash’s follow up.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/06/opinion/robert-kennedy-jr-silicon-valley.html
https://www.anildash.com/2023/07/07/vc-qanon/
York University PhD candidate Andrew Jones labels this Silicon Valley strain the Grey Tribe.
https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/36766
For anyone interested in the internecine disputes within the vintage fashion community: The proclivity to reactionary politics among certain dapper gents has become such a problem that progressive dandies have resorted to wearing badges saying "Vintage style, not vintage values" in protest. https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/vintage-style-not-vintage-values-fashion-community
Armond White seems like a good example of cultural contrarianism becoming a gateway to the right wing.
Hi John,
I had a question for your next mailbag. I have recently made the decision to stop using Twitter both because it kept making me feel shittier and shittier but also out of the ethical considerations that by remaining I was lending my support (however indirectly) to the project of a dangerous billionaire. Not saying that's the right decision for everyone, and I know that for folks who rely on the platform for their livelihoods it's a very different calculus but I was curious to hear how you weigh the ethics of remaining or of eventually leaving the site. Thanks in advance, love your writing.
There’s a bit of creeping fascist-chic happening here in Berkeley. A small cohort of Yarvin-adjacent bohemians, some dabble in Catholicism and most in esoterica. I think they view his politics as gauche but there’s no deeper reckoning occurring that I’ve seen. At a certain point it’s no longer ironic or a winking transgression
You want a progressive Caesarist? Try Lee Kuan Yew for size. He was not "progressive" by 2023 standards, but was tolerably anti-reactionary.
All these words. And not a single scrap of actionable advice. We already know how smart you are and that has limited value. We need structures and methodologies that could be projected outward. All of this intellectual introspection is simply staring at our feet and doing little to nothing leaving us at the end in the exact same position we began. If you don’t have a call to, and recommendation for corrective action, analysis is of no value.
Okay, then don't read it. What do you want me to say.? I'm not a fucking advice columnist over here.
That's true, but woke covers way more phenomena I think, but I can't really justify every single off the cuff remark I make on the podcast
As someone who grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh and co., I do not see any substantial difference between the way “woke” is used now and the way “liberal” was used in, say, the 90s. I think it’s just a matter of words getting dulled by overuse and then replaced with a sharper one.