When I did my first interview with Connie Morgan for Free Black Thought, she asked me if I had any hot takes. I didn’t even know what those are. Provocative soundbites that slope down into conspiracy theories? So I will try to do something like that, and spit fire in a lighter spirit, but knowing that they always could lead to a much more interesting and detailed discussion.
Why do you think American media is hot mess? I say it’s because the incentives to commercialize speech is making everything populist and nobody knows how to do the equivalent of ‘art films’ in this social media market. I happen to know that Andrew Sullivan subscribed to my stuff - I think Nina Paley does as well. But I don’t check these things and I’m super lousy at commercial self-promotion. Still, that’s way more important to me. My shortcut on that idea is $17 worth of respect from a million people vs $1 million of respect from 17 people. But I don’t think even Obama gets that - or when Justice Thomas got a free plane ride, the haters multiplied.
Stoic Bites