1. The New York Times has published several pieces on the cancel culture. I don't have razor-sharp views* on the questions those pieces pose, but I do find it interesting how close it is to the age-old culture of shunning. Even other animals do that, so that the Lone Wolf is most likely one which the pack kicked out.
In some cases the attempt to silence certain views by burying them is a bit like burying potatoes in the ground. What one wants to silence might just grow sprouts in the darkness. That's why I prefer open and respectful debates over this alternative, though an obvious lack of respect from the other side (Milo Yiannopoulos comes to mind here) does make me change my mind.
2. An interview in the New Republic with Andrea Long Chu, about her new book Females made me realize that feminism is utterly pointless.
Well, not quite. Or not quite yet. But the interview, titled "We Are All Female Now" argues that
Femaleness is not an anatomical or genetic characteristic of an organism, but rather a universal existential condition.” For Chu, “femaleness” is the urge to be a vessel for another’s desire.This reminds me of such earlier tomes as Justine and The Story of O which shared her view about femaleness as submission and masochism. It also resembles various porn takes of women as passive receptacles, though for something more concrete than mere desire. And it makes me want to go into the kitchen to throw plates against the wall.
3. Yet another book tells us stuff about Trump any aware person knew before he was elected. This one is called A Warning. By anonymous.
I do enjoy the title here, given that such a warning is several years too late. Or as Charlie Pierce writes:
Not to put too fine a point on it, but Anonymous can bite me. I have no intention of shelling out a dime to read about how someone almost ran into the burning house to save the baby, or about how someone almost gave up their seat in the lifeboat when the great ship went down, or about how someone almost dove into a freezing river to save a busload of nuns, or, for that matter, about how someone almost decided not to be a part of the most monstrous executive administration since the (un)death of Vlad The Impaler. I am not interested in someone's heartfelt account of their near-collision with actual integrity. I decline to be fascinated by the tale of how someone nearly ran into courage on the street but had to catch a bus instead. Like I said, Anonymous can anonymously bite me.
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* I have lots of views but they don't all necessarily lead to the same conclusions.