(Wisconsinites, vote Dan Kelly on April 7!)
Could someone explain why everyone suddenly thinks it’s awful if Hachette Book Group decides it doesn’t want to publish slime by Woody Freaking Allen?
“If this book disappears, readers will never get to decide for themselves.”
It’s the age of the internet! Allen can tell his story all he wants! It’s cheaper than ever! (Besides, I understand he has a few bucks.)
He can even self-publish his book! Publish it under the label Woody Allen Is Totally Innocent and Also All the Teen Girls Love Him Books and Industrial Waste, Inc.!
“But wait,” I hear you cry, “aren’t you the same Greg Forster recently seen driving donuts in Kosoko Jackson’s front yard?”
Yes, so for the slower students, I shall hereby Break If Down (stand back):
- We should celebrate when a book that is Actually Good is not cancelled by a campaign of lies carried on by con artists who will profit financially from the book’s failure.
- We should also celebrate when a book that is Actually Bad is cancelled by a campaign of truth-telling about its demerits.
So to the argument “if we cancel Allen, next time someone undeserving will be cancelled,” I say take it up with Amelie Wen Zhao. It is actually possible to take the merits of each case on their own terms. And if others fail to do so, you are only enabling them if your response is to join them in refusing to take the merits of each case on their own terms.
This! Is! Not! Difficult!
(Another thing that is not difficult: voting for Dan Kelly on April 7!)