I took note of the brouhaha, the hubbub, the folderol, the kerfuffle over Naomi Schaefer Riley’s post this week, ruefully shook my head over the stupidity of it all, and promptly forgot about it. But in between recovering from yesterday’s trip to North Carolina and preparing for tomorrow’s trip to Pennsylvania, my Dunning-Kruger alert caught my attention with its insistent jangling. Oh, for fuck’s sake, what now?
One thing that Riley says is true: CHE knew who she was when they hired her, and almost certainly caved to a mob-like outcry when they fired her. Writers should not be fired solely for holding unpopular opinions. That said, she neglects to mention that she is also guilty of an offense that constitutes a very legitimate reason for a writer to be fired: being stupid.
Hamilton Nolan, eh? Well, he has at least one prior on his record, so he’s definitely an at-risk candidate. But merciless Mary, mother of Fuck, am I really reading a writer for Gawker suggesting that stupidity is a fireable offense? You do realize, Mr. Nolan, that the only substantial difference between your headquarters and the Huffington Post is the layer of ironic, self-conscious posturing over top of the superficial stupidity, yes? Do you really want that dam to break?
Sadly, I have to say that pulling Nolan in for questioning failed to have any deterrence effect, as we soon found him back on the streets, ostensibly condemning Jonah Goldberg’s knuckle-dragging machismo by calling him a bitch and a pussy. The self-unawareness is strong in that one.