Craft Your Content - [TWR] This is ridiculous.

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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

“I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Elisa’s Thought for the Week

At the beginning of the year, a couple friends gleefully forwarded me the tweets of a bro-fight between 3 of the most condescending assholic sock puppets of our modern thinking times.

I don’t tend to keep my opinions on these 3 quiet, so folks were tripping over themselves to alert me to the drama (because I don’t follow any of them.)

And while my own judgment of them is an issue I’ll likely have to discuss with my therapist next week since I’m writing about it here, interactions like this confirm my most base suspicions.

People who like to look down on others, because they think they are better, are Super Jerks.

The thread started with the youngest of the 3 Super Jerks sharing some books he wanted to read in 2023.

I’ll admit, the list wasn’t the most advanced I’ve seen. It read a bit like a high school English syllabus, with classics and mainstream education titles on it.

It wasn’t anything particularly offensive, just a list that some readers might recognize as titles they checked off long ago in their reading journey.

But this guy (young…I think he’s in his mid-late 20’s?) had never read them; yet everyone has told him time and time again that he should read them.

So he committed to reading them in 2023.

While I don’t particularly find Super Jerk #1’s writing, videos, or thinking to be my cup of tea…kudos to you, sir. Going outside your comfort zone and reading books you have never voluntarily picked up before, no matter what they may be, is a worthy goal.

If anything, I’d think that folks who are older (we’re talking 3-4 decades older) would have the common sense and wisdom to offer other suggestions or additional suggestions if they didn’t think the list was all that good.

Simple enough. You hit reply, offer some ideas for other classics (as the original poster had asked anyway!), and move on with your life.

But no.

Super Jerk #2 decides to share the list with his followers, pointing out how absolutely lowly and unworthy this guy is, because his reading list “isn’t good enough” for what Super Jerk #2 considers to be worthy of his attention and interaction.

He goes on to question the young man’s intelligence, job position, credentials…a whole slew of “I’m better than you for all these reasons, so go crawl in a hole and never come back” statements.

Now, to be clear…there are a number of reasons why I would advocate for this young man going off grid and not returning until he can learn to be less of a Super Jerk.

But the idea that reading makes someone inferior isn’t one of them.

The drama went on, and a third Super Jerk got involved, sort of defending the young man but mostly trying to shout the loudest in the crowd.

My reply to my friends was surprising, as I didn’t find the drama to be hilariously delicious.

Instead, it struck me as a pedantic disaster.

I have less than no tolerance for people who look down on others for their reading choices.

Aside from the fact that such superiority is usually rooted in racism, classism, sexism, and all the other -isms that pervade our days — it is just unnecessary.

What does it matter to you what someone is reading? What does it matter what they like?

As long as they aren’t reading Mein Kampf with plans to stage a new order (or similar maliciousness), then who cares?!

Reading is something that should be celebrated! A person is making the conscious decision to go out, find a book, buy or borrow it, make time to sit with it, and expand their horizons.

That’s pretty fucking awesome!

If you really think there are better choices for reading, share them. Bring more readers into the fold!! Don’t hoard all the good books and brilliant book discussions to your little snobby circle.

Or, if you want to look down your nose because someone reads The Alchemist and you think it is a book that “only that kind of person reads”, then maybe just keep that opinion to yourself.

It’s free to keep your mouth shut, and it costs a lot of likeability to be a Super Jerk—especially when you are doing it for the world to see.

What You Missed on Craft Your Content …

Our articles have the same mission we do — to help you to make your own words even better!

• (From the Archives: September 2015): One of the first articles I wrote for CYC, in “A Word Journal May Be the Best-Kept Secret Weapon in Your Vocabulary Arsenal” gives actionable advice to start keeping track of words and phrases you’d like to use in your writing. (Sorry we forgot to include the link last week!)

In Other Reading This Week …

Need more insights and inspiration for your writing and mindset?

• How many times have you looked around yourself and thought “I don’t quite fit in here”? Lucy Jones digs into other creatures that don’t conform in Emergence Magazine, complete with sci-fi/fantasy real creature pics and descriptions!
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• Ever wonder how creative you really are? If only there were a test or checklist. This piece by Paul Brian on Hack Spirit gives you 10 signs you are a creative person, even if you don’t think you are.​
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• It’s that time of year, when Bufer puts out their annual State of Remote Work report. If you are working as a writer, there’s a good chance you are at least part-time in the location indie revolution—so check out what’s up in this space these days.
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• Hey…did you know that the original idea for encyclopedias is over 2000 years old? As Tom Friedman explores on Knowable Magazine, you might not even know the person who thought of it, and changed your school essay writing life.
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• You can’t toss a wet towel in a writer’s forum without folks talking about Imposter’s Syndrome and how it affects them. But as Leslie Jamison reports in The New Yorker, the term has lost its original meaning.​

Weekly Writing Tip …

A quick chance to learn from the masters.

“It is not the actions of others which trouble us (for those actions are controlled by their governing part), but rather it is our own judgments. Therefore remove those judgments and resolve to let go of your anger, and it will already be gone. How do you let go? By realizing that such actions are not shameful to you.” ― Marcus Aurelius

Untranslatable …

Exquisite words from other languages.

Myötähäpeä [myoh-ta-ha-pay-ya] (n.) – From the Finnish language, myötähäpeä literally translates as myötä (we with [co]) + häpeä (shame.) It is the feeling you get when you see someone else being embarrassed or shamed, and it makes you feel embarrassed and ashamed yourself…but weirdly for them as well. Sorta synonyms: secondhand embarrassment, vicarious embarrassment, commiseration, empathy

This Week’s Writing Prompt …

We often do our thinking when we write.

Have you ever been shamed for something you are reading? Do you have “guilty pleasure” books and genres? Why do you think you classify books this way? What do you secretly love about them? Ready to take this affair public?

This Week’s Writing Resource …

Why not use the tools at your disposal?
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​Word Hippo - Last week I talked about the importance of using the right word at the right time, even if it isn’t the simple easy accessible choice. That doesn’t mean to pull out a thesaurus and jam in the fanciest word you can find! This site offers some common and colloquial alternatives, and allows you to search some phrases (which is a huge bonus!)

For the Upcoming Week …

Because we all need a good chuckle to start things off right!

Just remember, you’re a connoisseur.

Till next time! ~ Elisa

PS - I know I promised that there’d be no more Become a Master Writer emails, but there will be one more coming out next week—no sales, no marketing, just a free thank you gift with no strings attached. For sticking around through our enrollment period. Thank you!!