The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Dear Zionist Douchebag’?

Posted on | March 15, 2010 | 6 Comments

Jeffrey Goldberg at the Atlantic Monthly disengages from Sully:

Each time Andrew Sullivan writes negatively about Israel (which is to say, almost every day), my e-mail in-box becomes flooded with pleas that I respond. . . .
Yes, it’s upsetting that Andrew Sullivan . . . has become an anti-Israel propagandist. But it’s not my job to counter everything he says. He’s not particularly interested in hearing fact-based arguments that undermine whatever argument he happens to be making, in any case. . . .

(Yeah, ask Sarah Palin about that.)

So I’m unilaterally disengaging from this struggle. I pray, of course, that Andrew comes to see that his oversimplification of Middle East history and politics has caused real damage to real people, but it’s time for someone else to argue with him. . . .
I appreciate all of your letters (except those that begin “Dear Zionist Douchebag,” or, “Dear Self-Hating Jewboy Douchebag”), and I’ll figure out, as I go forward, what to do with this blog, but I don’t think that writing in anger is good for anyone. So here’s hoping that the Goldblog Unilateral Disengagement Plan goes better than the Gaza Disengagement Plan.

Goldberg actually came to my house a few weeks ago. He was doing some preliminary work on a possible article about the rise of the Tea Party movement and the populist revival within conservatism. He’s a nice guy with a good sense of humor, a pro-Israel, pro-America liberal who — like a lot of Jewish political journalists — has to fight against the persistent tendency of stereotyping.

It’s as if some editors say, “Oh, Jewish, huh? How about doing something about Middle East policy for us?”

Trust me when I say that, as a Southern evangelical Christian, I feel Goldberg’s pain over getting pigeonholed that way. It’s the journalistic equivalent of identity politics: The black reporter is supposed to write about race relations and poverty, the Jewish guy is supposed to cover the Middle East, the Catholic guy covers abortion, women are assigned to fashion, celebrity news and “women’s issues,” etc.

Excuse me for resenting this tendency. Too many years on the incest, moonshine and lynching beat, I guess . . .

Category: Andrew Sullivan, Israel, Journalism

Comments

6 Responses to “‘Dear Zionist Douchebag’?”

  1. Red
    March 15th, 2010 @ 7:31 pm

    Hate email: There’s a rash of that going around. I believe it’s generated by people with a limited vocabulary coupled with a myopic understanding of the situation at hand. These are the same people who flare up in traffic or over the phone but given a face-to-face, fail to back up their angst with anything more than a look. Cowards.

  2. Red
    March 15th, 2010 @ 2:31 pm

    Hate email: There’s a rash of that going around. I believe it’s generated by people with a limited vocabulary coupled with a myopic understanding of the situation at hand. These are the same people who flare up in traffic or over the phone but given a face-to-face, fail to back up their angst with anything more than a look. Cowards.

  3. Dave C
    March 15th, 2010 @ 8:57 pm

    So it’s worse than Hollywood where the Chinese looking guy needs to speak with an Japanese accent, wear nerdy glasses with high waters and be good at math.

    Or the tall average looking actress can only get roles as aliens or lesbians.

  4. Dave C
    March 15th, 2010 @ 3:57 pm

    So it’s worse than Hollywood where the Chinese looking guy needs to speak with an Japanese accent, wear nerdy glasses with high waters and be good at math.

    Or the tall average looking actress can only get roles as aliens or lesbians.

  5. SamHenry
    March 15th, 2010 @ 10:30 pm

    I thought this would be an article about Obama until I saw Douchebag preceded by Zionist. Trust me, by the end of next week, Hillary may have had enough of this follow the leader routine. Although a tough cookie, she is not stupid and inexperienced. She will not want to carry on this kind of diplomacy in the press.

  6. SamHenry
    March 15th, 2010 @ 5:30 pm

    I thought this would be an article about Obama until I saw Douchebag preceded by Zionist. Trust me, by the end of next week, Hillary may have had enough of this follow the leader routine. Although a tough cookie, she is not stupid and inexperienced. She will not want to carry on this kind of diplomacy in the press.