Writing can be a lonely and thankless undertaking. Even on good days it requires dedication, sacrifice, and an unwavering ability to remain focused on your craft in the face of scant evidence that anyone reads your words. But sometimes people do read them, and occasionally they react to them. The internet makes it easy to sow savage scorn, and to reap it. It also makes it abundantly clear when you’ve made an impact. Today we’ll take a look at what people have been saying about what Wordsmokers have been saying.
In the aftermath of Sarah Palin’s surprise resignation, William Jacobson, a conservative professor from Cornell Law School, penned an essay decrying the vilification of Trig Palin, which he claimed demonstrated the moral bankruptcy of the left. “I do know why the left hates her so much. And it keeps coming back to Trig.” It probably has a lot more to do with Palin’s calculated and disingenuous use of her family as PR props when it suits her purposes, but I think we can agree that photoshopping pictures of Trig was uncalled for. He goes on to cite numerous unkind comments in the blogosphere, concluding with VirusWithShoes’s “did Trig Palin write this speech for her?” Our intrepid editor and publisher is referred to as “the intellect in charge” around these parts, to which few of his acolytes would object. Jacobson’s article was reprinted here and here, and may even have lead to this love letter to Virus.