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I didn't say it was a hanging matter. I was pointing out that Taibbi was a jackass who acted in a heinous way towards this woman, not for laughs, as you originally suggested, and has never apologized. When he complains about "cancel culture," he is one of the people who are transparently jumping on that bandwagon because they have acted badly and don't want to be held accountable.
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He's been accused of acting badly. Are we back in that kangaroo court where an accusation is proof? My bad - he's been "credibly accused." That's the new equivalent of proof.
Maybe he thinks she's nuts. Maybe she's a disgruntled crank. He doesn't have to apologize to everyone who asserts they're owed one anymore than anyone else does.
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I didn't say that. I was talking about Taibbi.
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When you say Taibbi has to atone, the rule holds that all like him must similarly atone. That's a defining facet of this moral panic. Everybody has sins and must ask the victims for forgiveness.
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What did I say that makes you think this? Was it pointing out all of the people who are exploiting complaints about "cancel culture" in bad faith? Saying that Taibbi has treated other people poorly and has a history that is relevant and shouldn't be ignored in a story about this subject?
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When you say his history should be mentioned, I agree with you entirely. It's relevant. When you suggest that he should be held accountable, or atone, you lose me. South African had truth and reconciliation panels for the horrors of Apartheid. Nuremberg served a similar purpose following WWII. A gonzo reporter being accused of being a dick doesn't merit such attention or concern. It's narcissistic and borders on extreme victim festishization to even suggest he must atone.
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What I haven't done is defend all of the people (fictional or otherwise) you're complaining about. You wish I would, but I haven't.
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That's what struck me so strange about your "he should repent" line. You were rational, and then suddenly, you were arguing for moral judgment. The first camp is where we ought to be. The second is a camp of people who do not deserve respect.
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And I didn't do that, either. You can't read very well, can you?
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These are your words: "Yes, I think Taibbi should repent, and I don't think he should be heard complaining about cancel culture until he owns what he did."
Ok, you're not asking him to wear a hairshirt for the rest of his life. But you're being a moral scold and demanding he submit to some form of justice for accusations of bad acts decades ago. That's moralizing. That's on the same spectrum with fundamentalists who used to argue that one should face judgment for being gay, having premarital sex, or watching porn. That's a provincial Catholic/Evangelical view, and I'm kind of shocked one as smart as you would hold that view. One cannot be enlightened without realizing that moral judgment is a cheap and useless currency. It's also a currency of people who have no real currency. Failures in life love to traffic in moral judgment. They can mint it faster than the Fed is currently minting dollars.
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What I did say is that if Taibbi is going to be quoted on this subject, the reporter writing the story should give more context. Inform the reader. Facts are facts -- why hide them?
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I don't have an issue with that. If he wants to own this space, he's got to take it with the baggage of those accusations. But does he have a duty to repent? Fuck no.
