Anil DashJan 24, 2023
One thing I think about sometimes is the time a decade or so ago when the editor of the MIT Tech Review scolded me for being critical of Milo Yiannopolis because Milo “went to a good school” (some British shit that probably means a lot to them but I can’t even remember what it was) and therefore couldn’t actually be awful. That was one of those turning points where I realized I would never actually get elevated to a certain level of culture or visibility, and I was quite content with that.
Show threadArclight

@anildash I met classmates of Ross Douthat that were smart and sane enough to not subscribe to his BS but would defend him because they were (parse this carefully) classmates.

@Garwboy can relate similar anecdotes about the Guardian staff and Johann Hari (well-heeled plagiarist and mental health denialist).

"classmates" indeed. :/

Jan 24, 2023 at 2:42pmWeb
Show threadDavid EmmettJan 24, 2023
@arclight @anildash @Garwboy classmates in every possible sense of the word.
Show threadJohn PanzerJan 24, 2023
@arclight @anildash @Garwboy Oh well done there.
Show threadArclightJan 24, 2023
@jpanzer @anildash @Garwboy My most useful skill these days is the occasional turn of phrase. :)
Show threadGlyphJan 24, 2023
@arclight @anildash @Garwboy oof. thank you for this, I'd seen some recent interviews with Hari and thought his new book sounded interesting, and probably would have bought it today if not for this heads up. I will make a note to do a quick check of the wikipedia page for any authors before supporting them in the future…
Show threadSimon FrankauJan 25, 2023
@arclight @anildash @Garwboy Weird thing, university allegiance. Hari was the editor of the student newspaper, which made it abundantly clear from his editorials that he was a grifting shit. I've got to assume it's those who didn't overlap with him think he's great because he did a high-profile role awfully.