Shayla, They Bought Their Tickets. They Knew What They Were Getting Into.

I have two things to say about this.

1. Obviously, these pieces are commissioned by places like The New York Times with the express purpose of being performatively hated, with the performance taking place on Twitter, which then drives engagement, which is monetized. Obviously. No one really doubts this basic dynamic.

2. No matter how stupid the piece might actually be, no matter how annoying the people documented within it, no matter how lame the party might appear, people complaining about a party from the outside will always sound like they’re envious that they didn’t get to attend. This is universal. There is no percentage in calling a party that you didn’t attend dumb; you'll always give off a whiff of wistfulness and envy. That is the nature of parties.

To the people tweeting in rage about this piece: you are the ones getting rolled. You are the engine of the success of a piece like this. These pieces cannot live without you and your sarcastic insults. They live off of you. You are willingly sticking out your neck to a vampire. If you stop tweeting, these pieces will die. That you don’t suggests that you yourself know the game, and think you’ve found your own way to win. But the mockery ensures more of what's mocked, making you the engine of your own annoyance . The paper actually got its clicks. The people at the party actually got drunk. What did you get?