1. I loved Hitchens but it's worth noting that the entire trajectory of his career goes against the narrative Brooks is constructing here. The more of a reactionary crank Hitchens became, the bigger platforms he gained.https://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooks/status/1286619122835619845 …
-
-
3. By the 1990s Hitchens was appearing in bigger venues (Vanity Fair) & had also modified his anti-imperialism to supporting wars of liberal humanitarianism (in former Yugoslavia). Not directly connected but the two turns went hand in hand.
Show this thread -
4. The really big shift in his career came after 9/11 when he was able to rebrand himself erstwhile leftist who supported Bush's foreign policy while also repurposing his atheism in a way that was ideologically useful to war on terror (as enemy of "Islamofascism").
Show this thread -
5. The post-9/11 Hitchens -- supporter of Iraq War, un-PC contrarian who said women weren't funny & Dixie Chicks were "fucking fat slags"-- had immense mainstream success: Atlantic, Slate, best-sellers, White House access etc.
Show this thread -
6. Hitchens entire career illustrates that the path to success to move away from radical politics that make people uncomfortable (is early critique of American imperialism) and market yourself as stylish pseudo-contrarian who upholds status quo.
Show this thread -
7. Fittingly, the person who best explained what happened was Hitchens himself, prophetically in 1985: “To be able to bray that ‘as a liberal, I say bomb the shit out of them,’ is to have achieved that eye-catching, versatile marketability that is so beloved of editors"
Show this thread -
8. Hitchens entire 1985 statement on the profitability of faux-contrarianism is instructive.pic.twitter.com/MPjkz5LUmy
Show this thread -
9. Also, while I'm here: Brooks is wrong about this: "The liberal New Republic has less viewpoint diversity than the conservative National Review." TNR runs both socialists, Biden-style liberals, & Never Trump conservatives.
Show this thread -
10. Louis-Ferdinand Céline was one of France's greatest novelists. He would be unemployable today because there was no set of priors he wasn’t willing to offendhttps://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooks/status/1286619122835619845 …
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
I only know Hitchens for his atheism and autobiography, but I feel that IF Hitchens was de-platformed for being offensive, he wouldn't have whined about it the same as others have. I imagine him criticizing his opponents rather than acting like being given a platform is a right
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
This completely discounts Hitch’s support for the UK in the 1982 Falklands War. There’s a stronger through line in Hitch’s political trajectory than most people give him credit for.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.