At this point what is left to say about the Elizabeth Gilbert thing? Maybe she'll "reconsider" and publish her Siberia book after all, and the whole affair will turn out to be savvy but cynical marketing on the basis of "no such thing as bad publicity." Maybe there never was any book and pulling it is just cheap clout-chasing. But the signs overwhelmingly point to garden variety cravenness.
Gilbert is getting a dose of well-deserved criticism, but it's worth unpacking the campaign against the book: the hostile comments on Goodreads and the emails she says she got from pro-Ukrainian readers. "Being reminded that Russians exist is hurtful to me" is crybullying on a borderline genocidal level, and it fits a pattern. This and previous cancellation efforts at the very least complicate the narrative of Ukraine being the side of heroes, although even most of Gilbert's critics on the free speech side won't acknowledge it.
And if the problems with that sentiment aren't self-evident in the West that's partly because blanket condemnations of certain groups and individuals has become (again) more common, along with unquestioned valorization of others. Even among supposedly intelligent adults. We live in an age that deeply wants to moralize, but no longer subscribes to any ethic with which we can moralize. Not on any consistent basis.
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I didn't know what to make of Elizabeth Gilbert's purported new book. Of course, I never got around to reading her other one either so she wasn't by any means on my radar. Besides, saying her experience of lockdown was a magical spiritual time rather turned my stomach. A person can always go off and be alone if they so choose...
The latest I heard about ridiculous cancellations regarding Russia was that the Prime Minister of Australia is trying to prevent the building of the new Russian Embassy. Several Western countries have expelled Russian diplomats or moved to seize buildings used by Russian missions abroad in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. This goes way beyond 'freedom fries'.
Recent assaults on our understandings about the world have been very good at keeping us confused and outraged. I imagine you're familiar with Hegelian dialectics but I wasn't so when I came across a reference to the term a few days ago I looked it up. Of the many articles I found the following describes it well:
The objective of Hegelian dialectics in this sense is to replace something old with something new (e.g., capitalism with communism, traditional Bible doctrine with theological modernism, a traditional educational system based on moral absolutes with a new one based on relativism, an old age with a new).
Used like this, Hegelian dialectics cannot produce the new thing, but it can destroy the old. Other processes and techniques come into play in actually producing the new thing that is desired.
This tweet provided some amusement today.. Russian satire.
Eat, Pray, Love is a book I've never read that at some point was turned into a movie I've never seen. So I'd have to claim relative ignorance myself. Of course there are a lot of authors I haven't read, so I wouldn't necessarily be prejudiced against here. But yeah, anyone who remembers lockdown as a wonderful time when you could go off and be alone with your thoughts either doesn't remember too well or has something they want covered up.
Very strange and rather ominous. It used to be commonly understood that all nations needed diplomatic contact with each other, regardless of what they disagreed on or how they felt about each other. What's changed? Well, it might be the political class in the US needing to convince themselves they're still in charge across the globe.
Hegel is a philosopher I don't have much experience with. I do know that he was an influence on Marx. It strikes me that if a new thing is worthwhile it should be able to make a case for itself without the old thing being destroyed first.
The satirical Russian ad was funny. Had a cleaner look than I would have expected as well.
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