Workin’ for the Weekend #29: The Dreyfuss Four-Poster & Other Horror Stories
Also: Kmele to emcee FIRE gala.
Yes, yes, there are many issues in the news STRAIGHT down our alley, and we will be gathering very soon to yell at each other about them, but here’s some stuff to chew on in the meantime. And by “stuff” I definitely do not mean Ben Dreyfuss’s shoulders.
* You have to actually be a paying Calm Down subscriber to read Ben’s written take on L’affaire Daily Mail that he regaled us with on Episode #392 (adding to his growing Fif’ legend of #83, #97, #148, #214, Members Only #129 & M.O. #140), but since it’s US you should be giving money to, here’s an excerpt:
People first got mad at me because they thought the thread was serious and that I actually believe that women who are 5’6” and weigh 130 pounds are obese. And then I explained that it was a joke and they all got mad about how it’s offensive to tell jokes about fat people. But it isn’t a joke about fat people. The butt of the jokes isn’t fat people. The butt of the joke is me being a vain prick. But it’s using the Ben Dreyfuss character as a vehicle to play with some ideas I truly have that a lot of people wouldn’t like even if I delivered them in a straightforward memorandum.
I do think that fat Twitter is overly sensitive. I do think that thousands of people losing their shit when Adele proudly posts a photo showing off her weight loss is insane. I do think that obesity is a problem and that it’s increasing in America and it would be better for everyone if that changed. People would live longer and we’d spend less money on Medicare and Medicaid. And, you know, I’m also not attracted to big people! I don’t have some number that people need to be under for me to be sexually attracted to them but there is just a body type that isn’t my thing. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people! But it’s just a reality. I’m also not attracted to albinos! Or people who are really tall! Or really short! It doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. […]
People are then also like “oh well this joke wasn’f funny.” And, ok. Sure. Lots of them aren’t funny. I’m just riffing. It’s how I work my own thoughts out. So, some of them miss? So what? They’re words. Not bullets. If you’re getting upset because of some random words from some random person you’ve never met and never will meet, you need to find God or something because there is something missing in your life.
* Speaking of the easily offended, thanks to alert listener Jon M. for letting me know that Kmele is emceeing the annual gala for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in Manhattan April 18; the first one since FIRE expanded its free-speech brief from just education. Killer Mike is the keynote, old pal Greg Lukianoff (#216) will be on hand, and tickets can be purchased at this link.
* And speaking of Kmele, he appeared Jan. 25 on The Dispatch Podcast with David French (#191, #325, #365) on a episode titled “Twitter Files Explained.” They discuss “political censorship, media spins, and Big Tech.”
* At my no-longer-referenced-in-the-show-intro dayjob, I wrote a piece Jan. 25 under the headline: “How Brooklyn's Much-Copied Diversity Plan Helped Throw its Best Middle School Into Chaos: After former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio changed the admissions rules at the school his kids graduated from, testing, safety, and excellence plummeted.” Since then the principal has resigned; my local City Councilwoman says it was due to “a coordinated campaign of racist harassment.” In case you want to know how things are going in Park Slope.
* In M.O. #149 we discussed the tragic early death of listener Chris Bustard; here (thanks to David Short) is Chris’s obituary.
* Back in May I linked to a whole bunch of Fifdom community activities and resources and editorial products that we have zilcho to do with, besides giving our unsarcastic golf-claps from the sidelines. Well, I see from Yael that there’s now a Strava fitness club of some sort, and why the hell not!
You just know the closing song has to come from the late, great Tom Verlaine, but which one? Marquee Moon being one of the greatest debut and WTF-is-this albums ever, songs from which have graced the endings of M.O. episodes a time or three, maybe you should just take that as your homework assignment, and we’ll instead dip here from the lesser-ballyhooed but still great follow-up record Adventure:
All nepobabies should aspire to be like Ben
Such a delight to get two great episodes and a post like this one in a single week. Well worth the subscription. Maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and up my contribution to the Never Fly Coach level.
A friend of a friend hosts a popular far-left podcast. As a nod of respect and because it is good for me to expand my horizons, I picked an episode I thought would be provocative (topic = inflation: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dig/id1043245989?i=1000530286586). It was tough to listen to for a couple reasons. First, the motives consistently ascribed to people who seek to combat inflation are horrible (it is their *aim*, apparently, to "crush workers"), which is a joke. Second, more importantly, it was utterly serious and devoid of any sense of humor directed anywhere. It would probably be good for me to listen to more, but I just can't take it. I rather laugh and learn with TFC.
One good takeaway for me though: I'm going to be more careful not to ascribe absurd motives to people with whom I disagree. I bet I do so without thinking, at least sometimes.