Is David Brooks Doing Alright?

I know there are editors in the Opinion section. What I’m unclear on is if any of them saw David Brooks’ latest column and had a singular question about its content???

His column published Thursday is titled “And Now, a Word From a Fanatic” with the subhead, “Inside the mind of an internet extremist.” Buckle up, folks.

“I am a sick man. I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased,” the column begins. Hm. Not drinking is always an option.

“I am one of those fanatics on the alt-right and the alt-left, the ones who make online forums so vicious, the ones who cancel and call out, the minority of online posters who fill the air with hate. I’m one of those radicals whose rage is intertwined with psychological fragility, whose anger at real wrongs is corrupted by my existential panic about myself,” the column continues. Oh, so it’s NOT an actual letter. And the alt-left doesn’t exist, but hmm.

“To know anything about me you have to understand the chaos at the core of my innermost being. I was raised without coherent moral frameworks. I was raised amid social fragmentation and division, the permanent flux of liquid modernity,” it keeps going. Hmmm.

It’s another 350-ish words that seems like a Pewdiepie fanboy satire. Maybe?? Did no one have a single, solitary question for David Brooks about what the hell is going on? Has he never been told that it is OKAY to tell your editor that you’re not ready and you’re going to miss a deadline?? Because I would much rather admit to not being able to make a deadline than publish this.

 
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