Dec 4, 2023·edited Dec 5, 2023Liked by Franklin Einspruch
The piece about the publishing industry reminded me of the case of a gay African American man from Detroit who, despite having zero Hispanic ancestry, assumed the identity of a Cuban exile, changed his name from Herman Carroll to "Hache" (the Spanish word for H) Carrillo, and based his literary and academic career on a fabricated "Latin" persona. For over 20 years, he deceived practically everyone in his life, including his white husband. After he died (from COVID) in 2020, some of his Detroit relatives outed him, and the story was covered by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone and the New Yorker.
Said coverage was remarkably--nay, exquisitely--measured, sensitive, tactful and non-judgmental. Very significantly, nobody seemed interested in or concerned with what real Cuban exiles thought of the matter (Carroll had wisely kept his distance from them, and basically they'd never heard of him before he died). It was as if, despite the gross cultural appropriation, the story was not their business. He was not a prolific writer, but his chief work, a novel whose main characters are Cuban exiles (published by Pantheon/Random House), is still being sold commercially as if there were no problem with it.
My point should be obvious--if Carroll had been a straight white man, he would have been ripped to shreds. The double standard is so flagrant and brazen, not to say contemptible, that the mind boggles.
Re Lukianoff's article, the matter it's painfully simple--it's called hypocrisy. It's just that, for the left, hypocrisy was "normalized" ages ago, a case of the (supposed) ends justifying the means.
Re geniuses behaving badly, that's a very old and common story, and those who can't deal with it are at best juvenile (though in many cases they do get it but choose to play indignantly righteous).
The piece about the publishing industry reminded me of the case of a gay African American man from Detroit who, despite having zero Hispanic ancestry, assumed the identity of a Cuban exile, changed his name from Herman Carroll to "Hache" (the Spanish word for H) Carrillo, and based his literary and academic career on a fabricated "Latin" persona. For over 20 years, he deceived practically everyone in his life, including his white husband. After he died (from COVID) in 2020, some of his Detroit relatives outed him, and the story was covered by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone and the New Yorker.
Said coverage was remarkably--nay, exquisitely--measured, sensitive, tactful and non-judgmental. Very significantly, nobody seemed interested in or concerned with what real Cuban exiles thought of the matter (Carroll had wisely kept his distance from them, and basically they'd never heard of him before he died). It was as if, despite the gross cultural appropriation, the story was not their business. He was not a prolific writer, but his chief work, a novel whose main characters are Cuban exiles (published by Pantheon/Random House), is still being sold commercially as if there were no problem with it.
My point should be obvious--if Carroll had been a straight white man, he would have been ripped to shreds. The double standard is so flagrant and brazen, not to say contemptible, that the mind boggles.
I love Philips painting and the title even more
Re Lukianoff's article, the matter it's painfully simple--it's called hypocrisy. It's just that, for the left, hypocrisy was "normalized" ages ago, a case of the (supposed) ends justifying the means.
Re geniuses behaving badly, that's a very old and common story, and those who can't deal with it are at best juvenile (though in many cases they do get it but choose to play indignantly righteous).