There is a larger theme here and it may not make me popular by saying it. On both the macro and micro scales, white women seem in an awful hurry to self censor. On the macro side, women, except for those specifically harmed, seem ok with their sisters competing against biological men in sports and sharing prison cells with the same. I see no raised fists nor marches against these women negating policies. For gosh sake, John Hopkins just started suggesting the word non-men instead of women. I know there are individual women that see the insanity in this but where is the audience at the View or the Squad or the other groups who purportedly “speak for women”?
On the micro side, this self embarrassing video shows how weak some successful women really are. These are the same people who publicly and loudly tell us how strong women are and who scream to believe all women. It’s ironic to me that 2 or 3 generations ago when the traditional family was still, well, traditional, the wife/mother was the rock of the unit. Now it seems like the only time they show strength is when something gets between them and their after yoga Starbucks.
We need more JK Rowlings, Martina Navritalovas, Reilly Gaines and fewer women like the one in the video. As we say among the lads, grow a pair. Please.
Oh please. Just another silly, self-abasing guilt ridden, privileged white woman flaying herself in service to the "woke" collective. This is cringey and embarrassing. But hardly surprising. As our beloved nation swirls down into the toilet bowl of Leftist stupidity, with our "intellectual" and corporate classes aping he worst of Soviet Stalinism. How can any self-respecting, halfway intelligent human buy into this idiocy?
What really irks me about the current culture surrounding the Ukrainian War is that I’m old enough to remember supporting the war in Iraq when it was certainly not the cool thing to do.
I supported it then because our boys were fighting and dying in the streets of Ramadi and Mosul while all the cool kids back in the states were complaining about how imperialist the US military is.
Now, if I voice hesitation over getting in a proxy-war with Russia because I don’t think it’s worth more of our boys’ blood, suddenly I’m the coward who doesn’t stand up for freedom and democracy.
In March of 2022, the Russian piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev was booted from concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, after a mail campaign by Ukrainians living in Montreal.
Mr. Malofeev, who is 21, repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion and has relatives living in Ukraine.
Not good enough. He must be silenced, by people who likely did not listen to his music in the first place, who did not care what he said, and who chose to lash out at anything and anyone Russian. The cowards of the orchestra management and the concert venues just passively went along with this.
A shameful and pointless cancellation of a great artist. It also did nothing to stop the war, obviously.
I was listening to the fabulous roundtable on Honestly this week regarding Jordan Neely. One of the contributors noted a tweet in which an “influencer” (gag) said of angst on the NYC subway, “Fear of the person next to you is in your mind. It can be cured in therapy.” Then she noted those same influencers not two years back saying that micro aggressions, word crimes, etc were the same as violence. So the take away is that actual fear of injury is in your mind full of privilege and implicit bias is made up, but injury from the thoughts of others’ motives is real.
Real courage means calling out cultural gaslighting when it happens. Saying “no” is any context is challenging, but it is the only thing that separates us in a healthy way from others. If we are “all one”, then my complaint is your complaint is his complaint and isn’t great that we all think alike? Except we don’t. Two of us are lying. We are becoming a country of liars. Lying lacks courage, dignity and honor and we do it the name of those things. We deserve leaders who say “no” to all kinds of extremism, fundamentalism, and the irrationality being touted as real.
I guess virtual book burning is better for the environment than actual burning. Can I say that? Am I insensitive to someone somewhere for some reason? I’m so sorry for being so mean! This comment is hereby cancelled.
I find Gilbert's rationale disingenuous, a possible marketing move gone sour. The premise of The Snow Forest sounds like the epitome of current-day Urkrainian sentiment: resistance towards Russian government oppression. This is the kind of story we need right now, encouragement to continue the fight. For Gilbert, who has built her brand on courage, this smells like a cop-out and feels like a huge letdown. I've enjoyed several of her past novels, The Signature of All Things, being one of the most beautiful stories I've read. The best way to push back against the implosion of the literary world is to demand more stories with "uncomfortable" settings. Kowtowing to the (I suspect) tiny rage mob on the internet is exactly what we need to resist.
Writers lacking courage don't interest me. Nothing memorable can be accomplished without risk, and courage is the trait of being able to withstand fear.
It's just sad watching people crumble without even the faintest pressure. A brief gust of wind and they fall over.
“The Snow Forest was trashed on the book review site Goodreads in an organized campaign by people who took exception to Gilbert’s choice of setting.”
So the mob comes for even the most woke. Big surprise. Gilbert can remove her angel wings and bask in her $20mil fortune and release her book the day the war ends, but other authors, especially début or young, don’t enjoy the same privilege.
Funny, too, that her Ukrainian “fans” ganged up on her and cyber bullied her book into oblivion, while she waved it goodbye. Where’s the love and kindness?
I thought this was a great article until you attacked the author for being a 53-year-old white woman larping as a 22 year old keyboard warrior. I hardly see what her skin color or age has to do with the very important question of censorship versus appropriation. It’s these kinds of attacks one one’s personhood that have infiltrated our culture and made it more difficult to have an honest, intellectual debate.
This is a very interesting piece -- it highlights the dangers of Goodreads which allows books to be rated before they are even available to be read. Over the years, authors have complained about the practice only to be told -- it is what some readers like to do in order to rank their reading.
There were other ways Gilbert could have acted -- for example making a donation to an Ukrainian charity or even adding an addendum about the chosen charity to every book sold. As it is, it seems performative -- pulling the book and waiting for a more favourable marketing climate.
There is a larger theme here and it may not make me popular by saying it. On both the macro and micro scales, white women seem in an awful hurry to self censor. On the macro side, women, except for those specifically harmed, seem ok with their sisters competing against biological men in sports and sharing prison cells with the same. I see no raised fists nor marches against these women negating policies. For gosh sake, John Hopkins just started suggesting the word non-men instead of women. I know there are individual women that see the insanity in this but where is the audience at the View or the Squad or the other groups who purportedly “speak for women”?
On the micro side, this self embarrassing video shows how weak some successful women really are. These are the same people who publicly and loudly tell us how strong women are and who scream to believe all women. It’s ironic to me that 2 or 3 generations ago when the traditional family was still, well, traditional, the wife/mother was the rock of the unit. Now it seems like the only time they show strength is when something gets between them and their after yoga Starbucks.
We need more JK Rowlings, Martina Navritalovas, Reilly Gaines and fewer women like the one in the video. As we say among the lads, grow a pair. Please.
That formulaic wish not to "add any harm" took the cake. Cancelling Putin is one thing; cancelling all things Russian is idiotic.
Oh please. Just another silly, self-abasing guilt ridden, privileged white woman flaying herself in service to the "woke" collective. This is cringey and embarrassing. But hardly surprising. As our beloved nation swirls down into the toilet bowl of Leftist stupidity, with our "intellectual" and corporate classes aping he worst of Soviet Stalinism. How can any self-respecting, halfway intelligent human buy into this idiocy?
What really irks me about the current culture surrounding the Ukrainian War is that I’m old enough to remember supporting the war in Iraq when it was certainly not the cool thing to do.
I supported it then because our boys were fighting and dying in the streets of Ramadi and Mosul while all the cool kids back in the states were complaining about how imperialist the US military is.
Now, if I voice hesitation over getting in a proxy-war with Russia because I don’t think it’s worth more of our boys’ blood, suddenly I’m the coward who doesn’t stand up for freedom and democracy.
Go figure.
“I’m not a regular Karen, I’m a cool Karen!” 😆
In March of 2022, the Russian piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev was booted from concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, after a mail campaign by Ukrainians living in Montreal.
Mr. Malofeev, who is 21, repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion and has relatives living in Ukraine.
Not good enough. He must be silenced, by people who likely did not listen to his music in the first place, who did not care what he said, and who chose to lash out at anything and anyone Russian. The cowards of the orchestra management and the concert venues just passively went along with this.
A shameful and pointless cancellation of a great artist. It also did nothing to stop the war, obviously.
I was listening to the fabulous roundtable on Honestly this week regarding Jordan Neely. One of the contributors noted a tweet in which an “influencer” (gag) said of angst on the NYC subway, “Fear of the person next to you is in your mind. It can be cured in therapy.” Then she noted those same influencers not two years back saying that micro aggressions, word crimes, etc were the same as violence. So the take away is that actual fear of injury is in your mind full of privilege and implicit bias is made up, but injury from the thoughts of others’ motives is real.
Real courage means calling out cultural gaslighting when it happens. Saying “no” is any context is challenging, but it is the only thing that separates us in a healthy way from others. If we are “all one”, then my complaint is your complaint is his complaint and isn’t great that we all think alike? Except we don’t. Two of us are lying. We are becoming a country of liars. Lying lacks courage, dignity and honor and we do it the name of those things. We deserve leaders who say “no” to all kinds of extremism, fundamentalism, and the irrationality being touted as real.
Just when ya think assholes like Gilbert couldn't build a "look how virtuous I am" cult alter any higher.....she pulls this stunt. Go figure.....
I guess virtual book burning is better for the environment than actual burning. Can I say that? Am I insensitive to someone somewhere for some reason? I’m so sorry for being so mean! This comment is hereby cancelled.
She needs to have a serious conversation with J.K. Rowling.
I find Gilbert's rationale disingenuous, a possible marketing move gone sour. The premise of The Snow Forest sounds like the epitome of current-day Urkrainian sentiment: resistance towards Russian government oppression. This is the kind of story we need right now, encouragement to continue the fight. For Gilbert, who has built her brand on courage, this smells like a cop-out and feels like a huge letdown. I've enjoyed several of her past novels, The Signature of All Things, being one of the most beautiful stories I've read. The best way to push back against the implosion of the literary world is to demand more stories with "uncomfortable" settings. Kowtowing to the (I suspect) tiny rage mob on the internet is exactly what we need to resist.
Writers lacking courage don't interest me. Nothing memorable can be accomplished without risk, and courage is the trait of being able to withstand fear.
It's just sad watching people crumble without even the faintest pressure. A brief gust of wind and they fall over.
“The Snow Forest was trashed on the book review site Goodreads in an organized campaign by people who took exception to Gilbert’s choice of setting.”
So the mob comes for even the most woke. Big surprise. Gilbert can remove her angel wings and bask in her $20mil fortune and release her book the day the war ends, but other authors, especially début or young, don’t enjoy the same privilege.
Funny, too, that her Ukrainian “fans” ganged up on her and cyber bullied her book into oblivion, while she waved it goodbye. Where’s the love and kindness?
I thought this was a great article until you attacked the author for being a 53-year-old white woman larping as a 22 year old keyboard warrior. I hardly see what her skin color or age has to do with the very important question of censorship versus appropriation. It’s these kinds of attacks one one’s personhood that have infiltrated our culture and made it more difficult to have an honest, intellectual debate.
This is a very interesting piece -- it highlights the dangers of Goodreads which allows books to be rated before they are even available to be read. Over the years, authors have complained about the practice only to be told -- it is what some readers like to do in order to rank their reading.
There were other ways Gilbert could have acted -- for example making a donation to an Ukrainian charity or even adding an addendum about the chosen charity to every book sold. As it is, it seems performative -- pulling the book and waiting for a more favourable marketing climate.
The piece does touch on the silencing of authors which is a very big problem in publishing today. Two days ago, a children's book author too terrified even to give her name to the anonymous LoobyLou account but verified gave this account: https://open.substack.com/pub/loobylou/p/on-the-silence-of-childrens-authors?r=8gufl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Writers today are hypersensitive and too eager to please everyone. They are afraid to offend anyone.