First, I would like to note that Emily Nussbaum did (mostly) pull through for me in her review of The Handmaid's Tale:
"That go-girl moment made me sit up straight—and pull back. I could feel it being hashtagged, like “she persisted.” The book is never inspiring, not explicitly. Offred is a witness, not a heroine. She’s often ashamed and numb. She’s even a little cold. It’s painful for her to remember her daughter, but her drive isn’t to find her family; it’s to stay sane."
Emily is not quite as unhappy with the show as I am, but that's ok. This is still the only review I've seen with even a whiff of negative criticism, so I'll take it. I'll also remain decidedly miffed with all other television critics. You all suck.
Second, I enjoyed this essay by Keri Smith:
"I don’t yet know what to call this part of the left...It has its own dogma and jargon, meant to make you feel like a good person, and used to lecture others on their ‘sin.’ “Check your privilege”- much like “mansplaining” and “gaslighting”- all at one time useful terms - have over time lost a lot of their meaning. These days I see them most frequently being abused as weaponized ad hominem attacks on a person’s immutable identity markers…a way to avoid making an argument, while simultaneously claiming an unearned moral highground in a discussion."I would argue that none of those terms (you can add "microaggression" and "social justice" to the list) ever really had much meaning, but whatever. The tone of the essay is a bit woe-is-me and she makes much of an aphorism from Beyond Good and Evil—which is never a good sign—but I haven't read any criticism of the left from the left since Mark Lilla's great and much-hated contribution to this genre. Liberal critiques of the left may be my new favorite type of political writing.
