My Wednesday column, an obituary of CSO violinist Samuel Magad, was written because a relative of his, a friend and former colleague, asked me to do so.
It drew this note. I receive nearly identical versions of this email every single time I write about a subject other than Donald Trump. I thought I'd share this one, representing 100 others:
It drew this note. I receive nearly identical versions of this email every single time I write about a subject other than Donald Trump. I thought I'd share this one, representing 100 others:
You wrote a great column today. You are a very talented writer, don’t waste your talent writing about Trump. There are plenty of other writers bashing Trump, we need you writing pieces like today’s column. Thanks Mike R.
My response:
It's funny how relieved dupes are when I write about anything other than the fraud they blindly follow. I always wonder why. What should cross your mind — but won't — is that a guy who's a talented writer, in your view, on every other subject except your crazy obsession is also a talented writer when explaining how you betray every American value you pretend to hold. Thanks for writing. NS
they aren't fooling anyone
ReplyDeleteI dunno, Mister S. Maybe I'm way off base here, but could it just be that people are sick of hearing about him from EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE?. Our world has become All Trump, All The Time, in every medium. Trump, Trump, Trump.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sick of him, and of hearing about him every goddamn day, and every goddamn minute, all over cyberspace, at dozens of Fakebook pages, and on every TV station and in print media as well. He's gets more ink than either God or Jesus Christ. More people hate Agolf Twitler more than any other human being since Adolf Hitler
.I think about him all the time now...way too much, and too many times a day, and I get too angry about how horrible he is and about how he's fucked up our country, our culture, our politics, and our whole world. He's been living rent-free in my cabeza, and taking up way too much space in it, for far too long. He needs an eviction notice. Easier said than done.
Every day he's still around is yet another bad day .I obsess about what will happen when he finally leaves the building. People will celebrate. I know I certainly will. And those who worship him will retaliate, and it will get pretty ugly, and pretty fast. Flag-festooned pickups will mow down revelers. Guns will be fired. Use your imagination.
Yes, I'm sick of it all, Mister S, but that doesn't mean you should stop writing about him. Hell, no. Not writing about evil does not replace it with good, It just makes the evil even more evil. Keep on keeping on.
Excellent comment. I have hated him since I first read about him in the late, great Spy Magazine. They went after him with a passion! The time they set up a fake rebate operation & sent him a 13¢ check & he not only cashed it, but hand endorsed it, he didn't even use a rubber stamp for that!
DeleteEver since he was elected, I've thought one of our great national tragedies was when a helicopter he owned, crashed in New Jersey & killed six of his executives, the people that did the actual work he always took credit for & he unfortunately, wasn't aboard the copter!
He is simply the absolute worst person ever to live in this country & that includes every other criminal, animal abuser & even serial killers. He makes serial killers look like upstanding citizens, that's how appallingly rotten he is!
He has never, ever had a single redeeming quality!
I'm with you, Grizz. All of it. So sick of it and worried about what's yet to come. But, as you say, I do think that Mike R may have been expressing gratefulness and appreciation for yesterday's beautifully written piece that, at least momentarily, reminded us that there really is more in this world than the insanity that confronts us daily related to the one person ruining it all. That's not to say that many of the other 100 similar comments might be from the dupes. I can imagine it gets difficult for you, Neil, to separate the wheat from the chaff when there's a firehose of it.
DeleteI agree about the incessant barrage of Trump-dominated news, Grizz. I brace myself every AM before looking at the overnight news alerts that were delivered to my phone while I was sleeping. I half-expected Trump would invade Cuba over Memorial Day weekend. Yet I still want to know what's going on.
DeleteThis is a different type of fatigue than what was referred to in the email Mr S received. The man used the work "bashing", he said "there are plenty of other writers bashing Trump" , as if he's specifically tired of hearing criticism about the man.
Gizz, I agree. I'm sick of him. But he's still here. He's still destroying this country and the people in it. He's still pissing on the constitution and raping us all.
DeleteThe problem is that we concentrate on him too much, but the truth is, anyone who's at the center or right of it is the problem. Any and all of his actions are their faults. and until we hold them accountable, you're going to have to live with the non stop BS that is the orange stain.
Stop electing clowns if you don't want a circus. any vote to a republican/conservative is a vote for a clown and a vote to continue with what has never worked.
Besides, Republicans have one success to their namesake in the last 60 years, and they are actively destroying it every chance they get. The EPA. And don't forget, Nixon created it to try and get us to look away from his evil.
Yes, I am as sick of reading about Trump as I am certain you are sick of writing about him. No one gets into journalism so they can repeatedly write about the same person. But I thank you for continuing to keep him front and center. As a retired journalist myself, I don't know a single journalist who isn't sick to death about writing about him. Not one.
ReplyDeleteTOUCHE!!! Judy
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to read that obituary for a wonderful man. And a relief from all the Trump news. I'm about as sick of him as Grizz.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Mike is just looking for more non- Trump news. Maybe he isn't a dupe. But boy, there's a lot of them.
And now he wants his portrait on a $250 bill! https://archive.ph/E93t3
ReplyDeleteAnd never forget, even Hitler liked dogs, this monster hates dogs!
When in hell did we start printing $250 bills? NOW? Just so Orange Jeebus can have his puss on them? Are we still making $500 bills? i don't think so.
DeleteThousand-dollar bills are long gone. Back in the day (late Fifties), my grandmother gave her nephew one as a wedding present, when he got out of the Army. I was probably about eleven. Only time I have ever seen or touched one.
Amen, Grizz!
ReplyDeleteDupes? A blind follower of Trump?
ReplyDeleteYou extrapolate an awful lot based on YOUR READER sending an innocuous email .
People who read you must be overwhelmingly anti trump or why would they keep coming back ?
I'm sure a few idiots have identified you as a virulently anti trumper and just want to fuck with you.
But like grizz who we all no is neither- pro Trump nor an idiot .
There are a lot of us readers who've had enough .
Please write less about Trump.
It seems even when you are on a completely different topic you work in how you feel about him .
Maybe you need a venting partner. In that type of relationship the partners agree to limits on the complaining
It improves both of their mental states.
If dozens of your readers are asking for less Trump, maybe you should listen. All the words about him haven't accomplished anything. Except maybe to aggravate some of you readers
Maybe that's your intention
Tom
Aside from the American Revolution and the Civil War, the biggest development in American history is Trump's coopting of our democracy.in an orgy of self enrichment, bigotry, misogyny, criminal behavior, and on and on and on. Our democracy is one of the shining beacons of human history and this narcissist is destroying it and our standing in the world. Any journalist who isn't focused on Trump is a fraud with their head in the sand. Bravo Neil - keep up the great work.
DeleteTom - you forget that this is a free blog, graciously offered by one of America's best writers and he can write what he deems appropriate to the times better than almost any writer in America. As a writer myself, the thought of someone telling me what I should and shouldn't write makes my head explode. For future reference: The writer writes what he or she is moved to write, the reader determines whether or no to read it. Censors, on the other hand, decide for us what we get to read.
DeleteAnd yet, you came here.
DeleteTom all you have to do is turn the page or not go to the website! We won’t miss you.
DeleteAgain, Bravo Neil!
DeleteThe road to fascism is paved with the bodies of people who told you to stop overreacting.
ReplyDeleteI was reading this morning about how Trump has bought $5,000,000 worth of Dell stock since February 10th. on May 8th he said publicly to go out and buy Dell stock.
Dell just won a just won a five-year $9.7 billion Pentagon software agreement for the US military.
We're lucky we get days off from hearing about Trump at all... I'm not sure we should.
Keep it up Neil. Without writers like you in the 60’s pounding away on our consciousness, racist leaders like Wallace, Eastland, Thurmond would have won the day then. Writers like you force us to take a stand. Those who complain of too much stress to take a stand and offer an “amen” are like my parents… not actively advocating segregation and racism but supporting it by turning their faces away from it. Maybe you would consider comparing the current Republicans to their roots in the 1968 Presidential election, when Nixon successfully wooed the south with his “Law and Order “ dog whistle? Anyway, don’t stop, a free press is part of fixing this current version of our country’s original sin.
ReplyDeleteIt's Neil's blog and his perspective which I value. He gets to write about what is on his mind and how he's affected by it, not by what anyone wants him to write about. Obviously for Neil, as it is for many of us, Trump and the administration are inescapable. We all have the option not to read that day's column.
ReplyDeleteI believe anyone with a public following has to pound the rock "Every Goddamn Day". It's fatiguing (and can be costly), but part of the gig. Carry on Neil...John
ReplyDeleteWrite about Trump as much as you want to. People who don't want to read about Trump don't have to do so. There are still quite a few of us who know that whether we like it or not, Trump is President, and he's doing a lot of damage. And we can't just close our eyes and pretend it isn't happening.
ReplyDeleteEach new atrocity brings more reasons to write about what is fast becoming a cross between 1930s German fascism and Stalinist cult of personality. That sad cabinet meeting was grist for all types of commentary, as does the insider trading abuses. As long as these fools keep hitting new lows, there will be things to write about. Hammer away, Neil!
ReplyDeleteI think you may have been too hard on the commenter. At least from the information I can see, the person appears to be happy to not read about Mango Mussolini. While you could take that statement as a slap at you, I could see it being more innocent than that. The simplest answer is that it’s your column, you write what you like of course. And you do write well.
ReplyDeleteI would respectfully disagree with your contention.
DeleteThere are no doubt many trolls who submit comments of which our host graciously publishes a few for contrast and to expose their continual attempts to silence his protestations.
The commenter in question has - I firmly believe - submitted many posts under different pseudonyms, as their posts have a very identifiable writing style. In the past, the commenter has generally exhorted us to “focus on the midterms” and to stop the divisive rhetoric, which contrarily of course is perfectly acceptable when coming from the right, but anathema when coming from the left.
That said, it’s Neil’s personal site upon which he expresses his opinions with which his loyal readers and fans identify, find supportive, and enjoy. It’s still a relatively free country and any reader can choose to follow the site or not.
“Tom”, in his many guises, chooses a sort of passive-aggressive approach to silencing our host, as he is no doubt aware the most virulent of the DT supporters won’t be posted.
It’s naive to assume that the post was innocuous. It was a targeted attack, under the guise of a benign comment, attempting to silence the host.
Jim
I was frankly surprised to see a few generally respected commenters supporting this guy. The idea that he is a pure-hearted innocent just tired of reading about the demagogue wearying us all is like saying you're tired of reading about racism in American history. The racism is there, smeared all over it, and any history that excludes it is perversely deforming the past for political ends. I don't write about Trump every day because there are other things in the world. But he is the most important thing, right now, because he is vigorously trying to destroy our country. Right now. As we speak. Anyone who denies that is just blind. I have no interest in arguing with those people because, to reach this point, with that opinion, is to have removed yourself from the realm of reason. Which is the space where I like this blog to dwell.
DeleteUnfortunately, Neil, it seems to me that the support that was shown for the commenter is an example of what you continually implore all to guard against, which is normalization and acceptance of less egregious forms of censorship, often in the form of patronizing, benign comments, that seem more “tolerable” given the far more egregious examples of increasing severity that we witness on a daily basis.
DeleteAs you’ve stated, it’s this type of normalization that leads to increasingly greater restrictions and censorship underpinned by repressive, hateful, and vengeful behavior.
And I was frankly surprised, Mister S, at the plethora of "Bravo!" and "Right on!" and "Hell, yeah!" responses to what amounted to a stream-of-consciousness post-midnight rant, while half-asleep and dealing with health issues, about how much we hear, see, read, and think about Donaldo Trumpolini, especially over the last sixteen months. Now more than ever.
DeleteCertainly wasn't supporting "Mike"...or whatever he's calling himself at the moment. And as I've said repeatedly in the past about Dear Leader, I have never hated another LIVING human being so much. Have to qualify that hatred for Agolf Twitler, as I just missed being around for Adolf Hitler, who's dead.
To repeat:
"I think about him all the time now...way too much, and too many times a day, and I get too angry about how horrible he is and about how he's fucked up our country, our culture, our politics, and our whole world."
Wish I could stop. But I have no idea how. Just hope he doesn't outlive me.
As Tony Bennett sang: "I wanna be around...to pick up the pieces..."
As I recall, you used to publish letters from a Trump supporter from Tinley Park who would hand print his correspondence on quaint, butterfly and flowery stationery, and would express a sort of contempt laden glee at your excoriations of his god. But here you’re convinced that someone who is suggesting that you NOT write about him (because, I guess, he’s mortified by your condemnations, and the thought has never occurred to him that he can simply refrain from reading your posts) is actually some sort of MAGA mole writing incognito.
DeleteSo Trump supporters are either a) masochists who derive a giddy delight from seeing their orange god sullied in print and want more of it, or b) deliquescent cream puffs who are so sensitive to criticism of him that they slyly attempt to get you to pull punches.
So which is it?
Sorry, Joe Doakes.... I'm not following your post. I've returned 3 times, hoping for enlightenment. Are you referring to Mike R or Tom as your "Trump Supporter"?
DeleteIn truth, I welcome sincere debate and differing viewpoint, if only to better understand the great divide. Your 2 choices re: "trump Supporters" are lost to me: masochists or cream puffs? Neither Mike R or Tom fits that profile. If you can clarify, perhaps we can begin a dialogue.
I'm glad to hear you say that Jill. I read JD's remarks, and they just didn't make sense to me. But I didn't want to expend the mental energy to decide whether I was missing the point, or it was just a garble. I figure, I get my say above, generally. This is for you guys to have your say.
DeleteI'm on team "I thought your response was harsh" and that the writer was just relieved for a day of lovely writing not about T. I read you every day, whatever the topic, and it can be nice to just read, e.g., about Kitty. Not often of course, because of course there is too much else to attend to. But sometimes. And I don't consider a "thanks for that" to be a MAGA-friendly guy (or maybe you know something I don't?) just a "whew" for a morning.
DeleteI'm out of town and missed a few days of EGD .I usually start my day with you then head over to the NYT for the hard news . Theres a lot of coverage of trump and his administrations ongoing dismantling and destruction of our country and others.I am always grateful for your perspective but especially your take on other subjects. the trump stuff is a bit much with you though based on proportionality probably not enough if you were the only one covering his wanton destruction and self praise.
DeleteI guess this makes me just another dupe
Oh, can the self-pity. The guy wasn't saying it's a relief to turn attention somewhere other than the toxic madman destroying our country. Everyone feels that. He was saying it's a "waste" of my talent to occasionally address the most important topic of our time. That's horseshit. I'm not a platform for every flavor of passive-aggressive self-delusion that people use to give Trump a pass. I think I'm going to have to start posting the batshit crazy emails that are reflected in my response to this guy — who I responded to, which is unusual in this situation. If I cared about clicks, I'd ONLY write about Trump, because this post got more eyeballs than anything else this week. My attitude has never wavered: I write this for myself, and for other people who like this sort of thing. If you don't like it, scram. I'll never miss you.
DeleteYes a little context would be very helpful I'm not exposed to the Trump crowd I almost never encounter anyone that supports him.
ReplyDeleteI travel around quite a bit especially in the Midwest and the signs are gone I never see a hat. Honestly if it wasn't for the comedy news programs did seem to go out searching for these people which I know you don't do I would never hear any of them say anything.
National politics is a different story the Trump supporters abound but it's cuz they're all grabbing for the dollars. Trump being an office doesn't benefit average people in any way that I can determine
I've been told by you many times go away I ain't going nowhere I like your stuff
Bill
Fair enough, Bill — you didn't sign the one before, so I don't know who is talking. Believe me, I don't like snapping at my faithful readers. It irks me. But this is like a nightmare — the house is on fire, flames shooting into the night, and you run up to somebody standing in front of the scene, hands in pockets, gazing at the sky, shake him and scream, "The baby! We've got to get the baby out of the house!" And he looks down at you, smiles, slowly rolls the stalk of wheat in his mouth from one side to another, and says, "Will you look at that moon! Such a lovely night, it's a pity to focus on negatives like house fires and such...." That's the mood at work here.
DeleteSorry, Bill, but they're entrenched in lower MI and Indiana! With all the paraphenalia and spew.
Delete