Flame war ahoy!
So, this morning I read Steve Almond’s Salon piece about meeting a blogger who hates him, and it was awesome.
I wasn’t familiar with Almond’s work or with his blogging nemesis, but I really enjoyed the vicarious thrill of seeing a writer stand up for himself.
For some reason, people think it’s okay to say things about celebrities, publicly, that they would never, ever say to the celebrities’ faces. For whatever reason, most celebrities pretend not to notice it happening.
If you’re going to bash a writer on your blog, though, be careful. The writer might read it and write something about you in exchange. Steve Almond totally called out the blogger in question for being a complete chickenshit.
This flame war is calling up a bunch of “debate” about whether bitchy bloggers bash out of jealousy and spite. Dude – of course they do.
When I talk shit about another writer on this blog, it is because I’m bitterly jealous of that writer’s success. Why the hell else would I spend the time and energy on complaining about him?
People who bash celebrities and then claim that they’re not jealous are just lying.
I’ve hated on Neal Pollack twice on this blog, and it’s because I wish I had a Nerve column, and I wish I had been friends with Dave Eggers. There. I admit it. And, if he wrote something ugly about me, I’d probably cry, but if he spoke to me at a book fair, I’d at least have the balls to look him the eye and speak back, unlike the sad blogger who bashed Steve Almond and then didn’t have the nerve to speak to him at all.
Damn, I feel good now. I feel cleansed. Thanks, Steve Almond. Sorry, Neal.
