My most recent posting on "That Notorious Buckley AIDS Column" produced a torrential response, including some wild attacks on me threatening to beat me up and even sue me if I didn't take the post down. My intention was to keep the post up for a day or so, but when I saw this response, I decided to let it stay up through the weekend. Some of my critics are real goons, and it's important to teach these thugs a lesson in free speech.
Besides, what were they getting so hysterical about? I got the idea for the post by reading responses to my Buckley eulogy on the occasion of his death. All I did was tell the full story about the famou Buckley AIDS column, reporting how it came about, what the reaction was, and giving an accurate account of a subsequent National Review contest about the column. My own account of Buckley's article was not uncritical, and to the degree that the humor was offensive the culprits were Buckley himself and his associate Jeff Hart. Yet I took the brunt of the abuse.
A little secret about me: I enjoy this stuff. When I was editor of the Dartmouth Review we used to tell the deans that taking on our student newspaper was like wrestling with a pig: not only did it get everyone dirty, but the pig liked it! I guess my Dartmouth experience has made me a little thin-skinned with regard to a certain type of attack. I always try to learn from intelligent criticism, but when I get outright obscenity and threats and name-calling, I sit by my swimming pool with a drink in my hand and laugh my head off.
Some of my pals who read this blog do periodically ask why some of my critics are so out of control. One of my friends even printed out a bunch of responses to my recent posts, handing me a sampling. I reproduce a few items to give you the flavor.
"Dinesh you should be executed."
"Dear Dick (I mean Dinesh)"
"We are stupid if we let this sand n*gg*r speak for us. Go home."
"This guy is a friggin' dot head."
"Hypocritical jerkoff."
"Go back to India you narrow-minded punk. You don't have a f*ck*ng clue, bitch."
"You have sh*t for brains. You are a moron too."
"I f*ck*ng hate the way Dinesh uses that stupid voice...I want to punch him in the face."
"Oh Double D (that stands for Double Douchebag by the way)"
"Dinesh is far and away the dumbest human being on this planet."
"It's asshole immigrants like Dineshit, an untouchable from India is why I am against immigration."
"Self-absorbed cretin."
"You only need to take a look at Dinesh ato know something is wrong with him. He is the quintessential little ugly deformed fascist. Weird lower lip, sticks straight out, weird pink ledge. Goofy ears. Little weird looking fascist nerd with a barren intellect and an even more despitable soul."
"I hope you die. What a piece of crap."
"The only rational response is for me to tell you are that you are simply full of sh*t and need to pull your head out of your ass."
I've been examining these comments for valid criticisms. Maybe I am a little self-absorbed, although my critics seem far more absorbed with me than I am. Hypocrisy I plead guilty to: it simply means that I have higher standards than I can live up to. I have never claimed to be a handsome guy, although through some stroke of luck I managed to marry a woman who looks like a model: maybe she is partially blind. I doubt I am the dumbest human being on the planet although I may be--a) the dumbest guy to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from an Ivy League college, b) the dumbest guy to serve in his mid-twenties in the White House, c) the dumbest guy to have taught at Harvard and served as a scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, d) the dumbest guy to have written five New York Times bestsellers. Sometimes I wonder what I might have accomplished if I was a little smarter.
Now let's turn to these critics. It's striking that the cultural left, which wears the public face of tolerance and openness, quickly drops this cover when it's orthodoxies are questioned. Suddenly ad hominem epithets fly, and the intolerance and outright bigotry that is supposed to be the province of the right is quickly exposed as a distinctive feature of the secular left. I suspect that these folks are used to hanging out with people who share their political and cultural assumptions. They are not used to having these assumptions questioned. Unable to counter with facts and arguments, their only weapons are epithets and abuse. I have encountered this combination of left-wing and lowbrow on the campus, usually at second and third-rate universities. There occasionally I encounter a student who can do no better than yell "fascist" and run out of the room. In a way I feel sorry for him: his worldview has been shattered, and his abuse is simply an indication of the inner confusion he is experiencing.
To my friends and fans who keep encouraging me: No need to tell me to keep my chin up. It's already up. In fact, I feel blessed to have such irrational invective hurled at me. As long as my critics continue to reveal themselves as mean-spirited, foul-mouthed racists, how can I possibly lose the argument? Indeed such reactions from such people tell me that I must be doing something right.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 32)
31. Dinesh,
I am gratified that you plead guilty to hypocrisy.
Given your professed belief in an afterlife, including Hell, I'd like to inform you that, according to Dante, you have thus reserved a seat for yourself in circle 8.6 of 9 (9 being the furthest depth of Hell, reserved for such as Satan, Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius).
You will be seated BELOW heretics, those who are violent against their neighbors, themselves and God, and pimps, panderers and seducers.
In fact, your favorite target, homosexuals, get to reside at circle 7.3.2, somewhat above you.
Now, without the hypocrisy, you might at least have been able to stay at circle 8.1, with the other panderers.
Phoenix at 5:42PM on Mar 3rd 2008
32. Somber, why do you post then? Who do you expect to change?
And FYI, he's Catholic, not Protestant.
AndrewV at 5:44PM on Mar 3rd 2008
33. And yes, Somber, I agree with how he only uses comments against his detractors. He also paints his detractors with a terribly broad brush.
Paul's continued appeals to take the post down or face legal action drove up the comment count and accomplished nothing. There is no legal action that can be taken for that kind of speech. And, it makes it look like Dinesh's critics are the type to run to momma government to make everything all better.
AndrewV at 5:48PM on Mar 3rd 2008
34. Dinesh,
So much for tolerance eh Dinesh.
Willet at 5:55PM on Mar 3rd 2008
35. Come on people!
Surely we can demonstrate better discourse in disparaging dumbass Dinesh D'Souza than just calling him "dot head", "dick" and "douchebag"...
Let's get creative!
Instead of something like:
"Dinesh D'Souza is a big fat Louza!"
How about something simple and poetic like:
"The writing of Dinesh is not credible or fresh!"
Seriously, let's step it up people!
Hey maybe we can start a club called ADDD - Americans for the Degradation of Dinesh D'Souza!
Who wants to join me?
FINN at 6:04PM on Mar 3rd 2008
36.
Somber and Andrew, personally, I don't even come here for Dinesh's crap. I come here only because the posts and conversations in the comments section are so interesting.
I used to always start off by reading DD's blog, but now half the time I don't even it unless I can't understand or need clarification of the topics in the comments.
Despite his education, he is ignorant and not worth my time.
FL Chick at 6:03PM on Mar 3rd 2008
37. Here's some pics of Dinesh's lovely wife...
http://www.meetup.com/members/5292635/photos/
... she loves dancing and tennis!
That's gotta be their daughter in the bottom pic... you can tell whose chin she inherited.
not-pboyfloyd at 6:06PM on Mar 3rd 2008
38. You may or may not agree with Dinesh, but disagreeing with him does not make him stupid. For example, I disagree with the New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman 99% of the time - - but I'm well aware that he's a pretty bright guy. I don't agree with Dinesh all the time, but he's clearly not a dim bulb by any means. In fact, I'll concede that both he and Krugman are smarter than I am despite the fact that they occupy totally opposite sides of the spectrum.
People seem to lash out at Dinesh for some reason... I don't quite get it. When people accuse him of being politically incorrect or insensitive, it's fairly evident that he's just being sardonic most of the time (as he is in this post). But hey, just by posting comments on his blog, he continues to be the most-read and most-commented newsblogger on AOL.
Tony Messinger at 6:07PM on Mar 3rd 2008
39. Well now... Aren't we full of ourselves this fine and delightful Monday?
Trust me, Dinesh, you're really not nearly as important as you'd like to consider yourself. You are a tiny man with a tiny mind who quite prolifically flings any number of half-truths or outright lies against the wall in the hopes of their sticking to emotionally bolster his already failing army of strawmen as you plug your books. If anything, you only distract.
You are a pebble in the shoe --a petty annoyance that matters very little. Indeed, all anyone need do is look back upon any number of your previous dribblings to see that this blog is nothing more than a means by which you stroke your misguided sense of self-importance as well as your comically fragile ego.
Perhaps you wish us to envy you, but only a fool would envy such a disingenuous coward who, rather than add anything of substance to the current field of political discourse, uses childish tactics and petty sniping to derail the conversation in a desperate and pathetic plea for attention.
Nope. You don't rile me to the point of hysteria, and you certainly are not worth the invectives. I pity you, Dinesh. You may have the trappings of a "full life," but you have long since sold out, and you are nothing more than an empty little man.
It's a shame too. Your first book was a rather fascinating read. Since then, however, you've taken a path that is nothing more than a vapid pursuit of your own petty self-aggrandizement.
Tootles!
Dan at 6:13PM on Mar 3rd 2008
40. Dear Mr. D'Souza,
I have opined on your blog on many occasions. I consider myself to be a bleeding heart liberal. I was born in NYC and have lived in its multicultural, liberal society all my life. As a matter of fact, my family and I thrive in it. I also believe that a liberal democracy is the only culture in which to live and to raise a family that will prosper in a future global economy. Therefore, as you may expect, I disagree with many of your opinions. Especially on the relevancy of religion in world history. However, I have never left, nor would I ever think of leaving, a response on your blog like the ones you reference in the above article. It is my opinion, that people who leave responces like that are not free thinking people. They are part of the disease and not part of the cure. Thank you for challenging my reasoning and helping me to see different things in different lights. Keep up the good work.
John at 6:22PM on Mar 3rd 2008
41. I think Dinesh missed something in explaining his critic's disdain....
hurt.
Theyre hurt. Maybe he just forgot to add that or isnt much for soft hearting. But...
Theyre hurt becuase they are gay, maybe have aids, and just plain dont think they are allowed to use their brains to help themselves. If they did, they probably wouldnt be wasting their time insulting so...
Michelle at 6:30PM on Mar 3rd 2008
42. Post #11 Somber: "What you are seeing is the manifest anger towards one who employs hateful generalizations, snide innuendos, a politically myopic view, and rhetorically sloppy arguments. Many of the people who come to read the lastest outrages don't have the education to pose critical arguments. Those that do, I note, go absent from your review. Perhaps you are so busy preening and enjoying their vitrol that you can not acknowledge the rational, researched, and constant arguments that are placed against you."
Anyone who read the rest of this post will notice what is missing: a rational, researched argument. Anyone reading the rest of this post will notice that what is also missing is a single specific example of "hateful generalizations, snide innuendos, a politically myopic view, and rhetorically sloppy arguments." I've noticed that most of Dinesh's critics, by far, never get beyond "That argument was sloppy." What's almost always missing is a specific critique of a specific argument. If any of you were debating Dinesh in person, he'd ask, "Well, what specifically was so sloppy about that argument?" A response, I suspect, would not be forthcoming. Any fool can call an argument sloppy; why not get down to the real work of demonstrating just why it's sloppy?
Dinesh, this post was right on the money. Here are a few of my favorite parts (because they are so darn true!):
"Some of my critics are real goons, and it's important to teach these thugs a lesson in free speech."
"Maybe I am a little self-absorbed, although my critics seem far more absorbed with me than I am."
By the way, that was one of the best!!
"Hypocrisy I plead guilty to: it simply means that I have higher standards than I can live up to."
"I doubt I am the dumbest human being on the planet although I may be--a) the dumbest guy to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from an Ivy League college, b) the dumbest guy to serve in his mid-twenties in the White House, c) the dumbest guy to have taught at Harvard and served as a scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, d) the dumbest guy to have written five New York Times bestsellers. Sometimes I wonder what I might have accomplished if I was a little smarter."
Maybe you could've instead spent all your time -- and I mean 'all' of your time -- posting hateful comments on the blog of someone you claim to despise?
"Now let's turn to these critics. It's striking that the cultural left, which wears the public face of tolerance and openness, quickly drops this cover when it's orthodoxies are questioned."
"Unable to counter with facts and arguments, their only weapons are epithets and abuse."
"In a way I feel sorry for him: his worldview has been shattered, and his abuse is simply an indication of the inner confusion he is experiencing."
"In fact, I feel blessed to have such irrational invective hurled at me. As long as my critics continue to reveal themselves as mean-spirited, foul-mouthed racists, how can I possibly lose the argument? Indeed such reactions from such people tell me that I must be doing something right."
Right on, Dinesh!
Tiny Tim at 6:31PM on Mar 3rd 2008
43. The more I read this, the sadder I get for Dinesh. It's like he's chasing after what relevance he had during the Reagan years. I think it must be difficult for someone of his ideology and former influence (however limited) to see their political dream fade with the failures in Iraq, with the Bush white house failure to produce an heir apparent and the failure of anyone to stand up to and take on the mantle of their Reagan ideal.
I mean, good for him for giving it another shot by trying to be Mr. Anti-Atheist, who can blame him, regardless of how silly some of his arguments are?
So, in conclusion... after re-reading this article and then seeing his wife's profile on meetup.com, I couldn't be sadder for him. However, I do think that I can finally put this train wreck behind me though.
Ryan Anderson at 6:34PM on Mar 3rd 2008
44. Nice work, Dinesh.
If your critics have to use foul language, swearing, etc., it means you are actually saying something and it gets them hysterical.
Nice work, Dinesh.
Keep it up.
CatholicCrusader at 6:46PM on Mar 3rd 2008
45. Dinesh,
I hardly ever respond to your posts. I usually come and conversate with the responders.
But I will say, that you are in fact a few things.
1. Sell Out
2. Not Humble
3. Liar
4. Not Christ Like in the least bit
5. Fraud
What's so great about Christianity?
You know what's great about it, that when you live it to the best of your abilities, you can see the fakers like yourself very clear. You give us a bad name. The worst part, is that you debate on behalf of us. What a shame.
You wouldn't know beauty if it smacked you in the face.
Here is something you know well:
Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."
This is what I live by:
(Matthew 5:9 KJV) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
You could learn a thing or two from me. I'll be glad to sit down with you and educate you one day.
Botts at 6:58PM on Mar 3rd 2008