Oh man, what to do about David French, the New York Times' "conservative Christian" columnist. French has already done a rant about being "Twitchy'd," so maybe he's moved on to other offenders.
What's French been up to lately? Well, pro-lifers were recently dealt a blow when Issue 1 failed to pass in Ohio. French thought we should listen to Patrick T. Brown, who wrote for CNN, "In red states, supporters of abortion access have not only made their pitch to Democrats, who would be expected to agree with them already, but have successfully appealed to independents and Republicans with qualms about abortion bans that can be painted as extreme or overreaching."
If you're pro-life and deeply alarmed by the string of pro-life electoral losses, please read this by Patrick Brown. Extremism (like advocating for prosecution of women) might satisfy the Twitter right, but it's horrible for the cause. https://t.co/VMVTf7AT3t
— David French (@DavidAFrench) August 11, 2023
Keep in mind that we're talking about abortion "extremism" the same week that NBC News' Dasha Burns tried to tell Gov. DeSantis that it's not true that Democrats are pushing for legal abortion right up until delivery, and CNN's Dana Bash said she'd never spoken to a Democrat who supported abortion through the third trimester. Tell us then, ladies, after how many weeks does the Democratic Party think abortion should be illegal? And French is worried about the pro-life "extremists." It's always up to the conservatives to give ground.
Anyway, the reason we're talking about French today is his new column, in which he writes about nasty rhetoric coming from the Right.
"It keeps happening," writes @DavidAFrench. "Since the ascendance of Donald Trump, with depressing regularity, right-wing men have been outed for using the most vile rhetoric." https://t.co/eATZoYGEya
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) August 13, 2023
And here's where masculine insecurity enters the equation. To the new right, their opposition to the left is so obviously correct that only moral cowardice or financial opportunism ("grifting") can explain any compromise. To fight on the right — mainly by trolling on social media or embracing authoritarianism as the based alternative to weak-kneed classical liberalism — is seen as strong, courageous and cool. It's a sign of a fierce and independent mind.
Thus, the troll isn't just a troll he's a man. He's a warrior.
You go, French … you tell us conservatives how we've disappointed you again.
A huge percentage of newspaper columns are now thinly disguised complaints about the mean things people say to the columnist on Twitter, dressed up as something more important.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2023
Paragraph after paragraph of this column is David French objecting to insults he hears on Twitter: https://t.co/yPjsLyTvFb pic.twitter.com/LBacH5SVhW
Same is true of this Jamelle Bouie column: all about what his Twitter friends say on Twitter, what his Twitter enemies say about trivial-outside-of-Twitter controversies. As pundits spend their days on Twitter, that's all they can/want to write about:https://t.co/xDuN71k3H3
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2023
David French makes me so glad I’m not dependent on writing columns for my income as it clearly makes people say embarrassingly stupid things just to have something to write about.
— Matt Bilinsky (@mattbilinsky) August 14, 2023
One of the things I always most valued was that I was always free to write only when I had something to say. Sometimes it was several times a week, but sometimes it was twice a month.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2023
Being forced to write on set dates guarantees you'll have to reach for the trivial or clichéd.
Basically the business model of Taylor Lorenz.
— River Parrish (@RiverParrish1) August 14, 2023
What do you expect from propagandists. They can’t even process the slightest criticism.
— Anomie Phoenix (@AnomiePhoenix) August 14, 2023
Victim mentality is a commodity. Everyone wants sympathy by playing victim, even journalists
— Danish (@VidenDanish) August 14, 2023
It’s sad that they think this will get them clicks rather than posting on interesting and current topics. Independent journalism is so much more interesting nowadays
Sign of the times
I don't think they realize the level of contempt with which the average person reads these articles. Somebody was mean to you on the internet? Oh no!
— lavoixdelaraison 🇾🇪🇺🇸🇧🇪🇫🇷🇷🇺🇺🇦 JD (@voixdelawraison) August 14, 2023
Besides the fact that no insult about David French is undeserved
— Mitch the Anarchist (@AnarchistMitch) August 14, 2023
Davis French is like 2-ply toilet paper soft.
— Dustin (@Dustin900036632) August 14, 2023
In David French's defence, I regard mean things that people say about him on Twitter as extremely good reading, so turning them into a regular column sounds like it could have legs.
— 🏛 Jay (@TheWickedJJ) August 14, 2023
It makes for great Twitchy posts.
David French, standard thin skinned gamma male
— Isengrimm3 (@isengrimm3) August 14, 2023
Masculine insecurity is whining about mean tweets
— OhMyStradivarius (@LarryFinesHair) August 14, 2023
True Conservatives™ are so f**king soft. No wonder people are so anxious to put the mean tweets guy back in the White House.
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