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BronxZooCobra's avatar

I know some of these people and the biggest issue is that their online life leaks into their real life and destroys it. They start snarking and dunking on their spouses, bosses, co-workers and friends and it’s very detrimental.

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Steve T's avatar

This is a very nice write-up.

Chapo is the only Podcast I pay for, and this is one of two newsletters I pay for, precisely because they and you all somehow emerged from the morass of the 2016 election and didn't follow the insanely destructive incentives of left-media - they didn't wire their neurons directly into the internet and calibrate their takes in order to get the most engagement and subsequently convince themselves that it's the same thing as having an opinion. I'm not going to name names here, but I think anyone who reads this comment will immediately be able to think of a few people who went down that path and will never return to humanity.

I've been really impressed with the evolution of Chapo - they've really pulled themselves out of the morass of Twitter - especially Matt, whose voice has been deeply influential in helping me understand Marxism and process the variety of ways in which Capitalism has wired my brain in such a deeply flawed way. They've really pulled back from the Outrage-Industrial-Complex and it strikes me that most of the targets of their ire (and there aren't that many) are well-deserving. They've been really thoughtful about both the power and the limitations of their platform and have used that to their advantage.

Anyways what happened to Matt has been awful and I've been thinking about him and his family all week. I will continue to remind myself that getting mad on the internet will not do anyone any good - because it never does. I just hope he's OK.

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