I Get Email...

angry

An angry email flew into my inbox as I was wading through my taxes (put off until the last minute). Usually, these come from people from the Left. I guess that’s because I don’t poke the bear on the Right quite as often. I don’t get much hate from the Right, but it does happen.

After I sent out my email about the “story du jour” deportation case (which I thought was fairly nuanced), I got this lovely email:

I will admit to being ignorant about a lot of things. I don’t think I’m stupid, although a decent argument could be made in that direction. I don’t deserve a comment like that since I didn’t force this guy to become a subscriber. I wasn’t standing on a street corner with a sign that said NAZI FASCIST.

I know I am not a typical Republican or even a Republican at all. I’m not strictly MAGA either. Like so many of you, I have no idea what I am. A humanist?

I definitely get more hate mail over at my film site, which is populated by Leftists. Today, someone was trying to make the case that I was an anti-Asian racist because I got something wrong in something I wrote.

He/she/they/them also accused me of being an alcoholic. You know, I kind of wish I could still drink. I can handle maybe a glass of wine every once in a while, a beer or two. I love drinking, but it gives me a headache now. Thinking I’m a drunk is how they explain away my perspective shift.

I fixed the error by saying that Disney was pandering to China — which they were. And then got this:

So in this person’s mind, I am so twisted up inside with hatred of Asians I would fume about a movie that won Best Picture because it was directed by a Chinese woman. No kidding. That is what many of them believe.

In my opinion, the film Nomadland won Best Picture in 2020 most likely because Chloe Zhao is a woman of color. I’m not the only person that believes this. It was a fine movie but not exceptional. It was the year of the Great Awokening. Of course it was going to win. It was decided early on, and we never wavered.

A well-known blogger even called me before the Oscars to say, “It’s not really going to be Nomadland, is it?” And I had to say that yes, of course it is. There was no way out of it. Not that year and for several years after that.

Nomadland would have been better if it had been honest about what this country was going through with the rise of Trump. The book is more about the hollowing out of the middle of the country, the loss of housing and businesses—everything that fueled Trump's rise.

Some even said it had everything except the MAGA flags. But in the film, they covered up that part of the story and made it mostly about a woman’s spiritual journey. Not a MAGA flag in sight. Maybe someday people will look back on this era and make the connection.

Which is preferable, to be called a racist or a bitch?

The thing is, I can only do what I’ve been doing for five years — write honestly and from the heart and hope people find some value in it. I probably post too much. And yet, there are so many things I want to post and don’t, so there’s that.

There is no pleasing everyone. I have about 27,000 subscribers and 2,000 paid subscribers, which is not bad at all. I’m grateful that anyone would pay anything. And those of us who maintain these Stacks don’t take it for granted. I am grateful because it’s been a dark year for me, which felt at times like freefall—and still does.

A thing I’ve learned from writing on the internet for 30 years: If you are honest about your thoughts, you risk losing people if your readers don’t agree with you or are annoyed by your opinion. And yet, if you try to hold on to one kind of audience, your writing can become predictable and rote.

You have to find a way that is fluid, not static.

Anyway, I did file my taxes finally.