From a reader:
I read your interview at Salon, and like the imbecile I am, read some of the comments. But not all them, just the “editor’s choices.” Oh, the editors flagged these as being especially good , I thought to myself. I can’t wait to read the best criticisms the left has to offer!
But i t’s remarkable how shabby and just plain dumb most of them are, and it’s hard to believe a responsible editor thought they were of high quality and/or worth reading. One poster, who now that I think about it may have been putting us all on, hilariously wrote, “…nothing even approaching Communism has ever really been tried, let alone practiced.” He also helpfully included his ph.D. status in his handle (he has one!). Others thought copying and pasting Webster’s definition of fascism was a great substitute for argument, as if the point of your book (as I understand it) isn’t to upend this very thing. One commenter had this to say:
Jonah G
is a very young person, and his ideas show it.
That’s it! That’s the whole comment! Thank you, Salon editors, for bringing that to my attention! You’ve saved me a semester’s worth of grad school!
I can’t imagine how awful the other, non-Editor’s Choice comments must be. I have a feeling it would be depressing to find out.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to reading the book. Unfortunately for you, I’m going to borrow my dad’s copy when he’s finished, because thriftiness is next to Godliness. That’s in the Bible.*