Never let it be said I don’t correct my mistakes. A few months back I tore into author Sherman Alexie for delivering a foolish and misguided rant about the evil’s of e-books in general and the Kindle in particular.
Considering how relatively low-profile my blog is, you can imagine my surprise last night when I discovered he had in fact read my post and posted a response (he did however fail to link back to mine, but considering how much he pats himself on the back for his Luddite sensibilities I guess we can’t blame him for not knowing that basic convention of internet discourse).
Since his response lacks a dedicated url, I’ll copy it here, just to make sure everyone is able to read it:
I read this personal essay about Twitter addiction – salon.com – on the same day there was also a small flare-up of my violent-fear-of-Kindle-related controversy. Because of my opinions about Kindle, a blogger wrote that she/he thinks I am an “ignorant douchebag” who is guilty of “barbarism.” Sherman the Barbarian! I like that. This person must have seen me play basketball. However, “douchebag” is a problematic insult. There is something sexist and trite about using a vaginal-related product as disparagement. I think the gender-neutral “enema” is more original and hilarious: “Sherman Alexie is an ignorant enema.” Now that’s a crassly poetic insult. And one that sounds suspiciously like a George Carlin bit. Did I just steal from Carlin? But, hey, we live in an Open Source Culture. I’m not stealing from Carlin; I’m remixing.
Despite my enema-impaired intellect, I realize now that I am messin’ with certain folks’ addictions when I question the moral, ethical, artistic, and aesthetic qualities of digital book technology. Have you ever questioned the drinking, eating, smoking, dating or shopping choices of an active addict? And if so, do you still have the burn scars? Of course, being a recovering, non-so-recovering, and openly-in-denial addict of various varieties myself, I have Johnny Blazed plenty of friends, family members, and strangers. But I’m an old school addict. Just keep me away from the booze, tortilla chips, and T.J. Maxx. I am very curious about these new school addicts. I think there will soon be a booming economy in the treatment of Internet and digital addiction. And, yes, as I type this on my computer, while connected to the Internet, after doing a few ego-related Google searches, I am quite aware of the ironies inherent in this little blog-like post. But it’s not a blog, damn it! I’m not a blogger! And I don’t have a problem with my Internet use! I’m not addicted! I just use the Internet to relax! I deserve to play on my computer after a long hard day spent working…on my computer.
(At this moment, during a live performance, I would purposefully pause to prolong and heighten my self-mockery. I would also use facial expression, body language, and stage position to highlight my shameful hypocrisy. And I would be hoping that more and more members of the audience would realize that, in addition to playing a character named On Stage Sherman, I was also playing a character named Digitally Addicted Dude Who Has Suddenly Realized the Extent of his Addictions. And as I post-modernly describe what I would be doing if I were performing this live, I am also hoping that more and more of my readers recognize that I am commenting on the primary weakness of digital technology: lack of intimacy. And now I pause again, on the theoretical stage and in this blogesque post (It’s not a blog!), to listen to the furious typing of my detractors: “But Sherman, I have made so many friends on the Internet. I am close to so many more people that I would otherwise be. Because of the Internet, I have hundreds of friends.”
Hundreds of friends? Hundreds?
I guess that’s my problem. I have a small number of friends.
This all brings me back to one of my favorite stories. Years ago, my little sister startled me by saying, ‘I know how you smell. Shoot, you could blindfold me, and have you and ninety-nine other guys take off their shirts and hang them on a clothesline, and I could still find your shirt by your smell.”
That’s a cute and faintly icky story. But it should serve as something of a parable, too. Smell is the memory-sense. And digital technology will never have a scent (until Amazon starts selling its Smells Like Old Books cologne).
Okay, now I have to go build Legos with the sons I’ve been ignoring as I wrote this rant on digital non-intimacy, and I have to email it to my co-worker so she can post it on my website, and while I’m at it, I should probably group-send it to the five hundred people on my email contacts list, and….
- posted 8 16 09
As you can see from the title of this post, I am more than willing to accommodate Mr. Alexie and his pretentious ramblings – but only to a degree.
Let’s go through his post, point by point.
In his second paragraph Alexie glibly tries to turn my criticisms of him back on me.
He makes a rather weak joke about how he plays basketball in response to the charge of barbarism – conveniently ignoring the fact that he said he wanted to hit a woman because she was reading from a Kindle.
He glosses over the charge of ignorance by instead going on a tangent about people lashing out at him because they’re addicts – conveniently ignoring the fact that my response to him included clear historical and economic arguments for why he was wrong about e-books.
Finally he concludes with a rather tired argument about how the digital world is stealing away intimacy, while completely ignoring both the benefits of the trade-off (increased connection with a significantly larger people constituting a wider range of the population and a more rapid, freely-flowing exchange of ideas) and the ways in which technological advancements are closing even the intimacy gap. He also happens to completely dismiss my offer to have a serious discussion on the issue since I think, in spite of his willful efforts to ignore and distort my response to his initial claims, there’s some valuable opportunities for insight to be gained here.
Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s likely to happen. As I noted before, Alexie seems to spend an awful lot of effort congratulating himself on being a Luddite and it’s been rare in my experience that such individuals are interested in an honest discussion. And on top of that, he seems to have doubled down on those sentiments since he posted his response.
But at least he isn’t as crazy as poet and author Alan Kaufman, who is apparently even crazier than Alexie, comparing the e-book and the Kindle to the Holocaust.
I wonder if Gutenberg got this much blowback for his insidious efforts to destroy the manuscript.
H/T: Gizmodo
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I found your blog after seeing a link to it on Mike’s page. It seems we have quite similar political beliefs but I was unaware that you had a blog. It’s a welcome addition to the political discussion on the Shore.
It also seems that you are also aware of Sherman Alexie. It’s rare to find anyone acquainted with his work, although you don’t seem to be a fan (at least of his beliefs on technology). I enjoy his work and somewhat share his views on technology, although I don’t get worked up as much as he does. For me, it’s merely a personal preference thing.
Good to finally meet (insofar as blog commenting counts as a meeting).
I’m afraid I haven’t actually read any of Alexie’s work. My awareness of him stems solely from the technology front. While I personally don’t really care what he personally thinks about technology it’s the near violent reaction to it he seems to have combined with the way he spreads ideas that aren’t really held up by economics or history that get me.
I know what you are saying about the violent reaction of some people regarding technology. I’m not really all that into technology. As I say, though, this is just my personal preference. I think technology is great in terms of helping to break down transaction costs and improving the ability of people to buy and sell and share culture and communicate. I, too, am annoyed when people want to freeze time and say, “I like where we’re at now so technology shouldn’t advance any further.” There’s no principle involved in their view — it’s simply trying to make your preference universal.
If you do read Alexie’s stuff, his short stories are better than his novels. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is his best work, in my opinion. Of course, my appreciate of his work may be biased since we’re from the same area of the country (around Spokane, Washington).
Clearly Mr. Alexie simply feels there is nothing barbaric about a desire (made public no less) to hit a woman for using a piece of technology he finds disagreeable. However, if it weren’t for morons, who would we laugh at? Just thank God he didn’t actually hit her.
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I am reading this article second time today, you have to be more careful with content leakers. If I will fount it again I will send you a link
Thanks for the heads up. That would be most appreciated.