Thread by @ggreenwald

Let me just say again that there are few things I value more than good faith critics who really attempt to engage what you've actually said, while denouncing the cheap, smear-artist liars who can only criticize you while lying about your views. This video is a master-class in it:

https://twitter.com/Zer0Books/status/1376262750515568645

I hadn't been familiar with @Zer0Books' show before, but if you've followed any of my recent conflicts with various liberal-left media sectors, this video is a very smart, amazingly produced & quite amusing critique of the worst factions in that culture:

To illustrate: @kittypurrzog & @jessesingal denounce someone here as maliciously anti-trans. Both are in the 90th percentile of the public - at least - in *defending* trans rights, but in dogmatic leftist circles, they're anti-trans genocidal monsters:

https://twitter.com/kittypurrzog/status/1376211378092920832

So much liberal-left discourse is totally self-indulgent posturing and online LARPing that has no purpose but to establish media branding and clout. It's all about vilifying people as unreconstructed bigots. They lie constantly about what people believe to do it. It's repellent.

Please watch that initial @Zer0Books video to see how it's possible - as a leftist - to treat a complex set of view on a difficult and sensitive debate with honesty, humor and intelligence, all with a goal of advancing understanding rather than one's tribal standing.

Warning: this show, and these two people, are anti-intellectual smear artists, the worst of these trends. They found a 70-second clip chopped by a partisan smear artist out of a complex 90-minute discussion @kittypurrzog & I had and lied about our views for clicks. Avoid this.

Just be careful of *everyone* online. Don't form opinions of people's statements from chopped-up video clips by people doing that to build social media followings. Take the time to read or listen for yourself for *context*, for the true meaning. We're all susceptible to it.

One good discourse-cleansing strategy is that if you have a public platform, purposely promote critics of yours who are acting in good faith and engaging what you said on the merits. By comparison, those too slothful or dishonest to do that will be exposed.