{"id":2243287,"date":"2024-05-13T08:03:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T12:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-morning-after-the-revolution-nellie-bowles-cant-pick-a-side\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T08:08:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T12:08:47","slug":"in-morning-after-the-revolution-nellie-bowles-cant-pick-a-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-morning-after-the-revolution-nellie-bowles-cant-pick-a-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning After The Revolution: Nellie Bowles Struggles to Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-morning-after-the-revolution-nellie-bowles-cant-pick-a-side%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2243287&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary\u200c mentions how Nellie Bowles authored a critical article about Jordan Peterson in\u200d 2018, \u2064later \u200cexpressing regret for her viral-seeking approach. Despite gaining fame for \u200bcontroversial stories at The New \u2062York \u2063Times, she transitioned \u2064to a\u2064 more measured stance. However, \u200dher \u200clatest work,\u2064 &#8220;Morning After the Revolution,&#8221;\u2062 is criticized for lacking conviction and \u200binsight, leaning more towards \u200centertainment with a satirical \u2062tone.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>In 2018, Nellie Bowles wrote a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/18\/style\/jordan-peterson-12-rules-for-life.html\">scathing profile of Jordan Peterson<\/a> for The New York Times, portraying him as a grifter and the patron saint of incels. In 2021, Bowles obliquely apologized. Not mentioning Peterson by name, she <a href=\"https:\/\/chosenbychoice.substack.com\/p\/learning-how-to-and-how-not-to-kill\">lamented<\/a> all the past collateral damage from her addiction to going viral. <\/p>\n<p>At the Times, she would write stories that she called \u201ckills,\u201d and her metric of success was how loud the Twitter mob roared in response. This approach made her famous. She also felt it was making her a sociopath. So she left the Times and resolved to be more careful with her words.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-738302066\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2f7efb7388108958ad7ea5683658538a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2f7efb7388108958ad7ea5683658538a\"><\/div>\n<p>Her new essay collection, <em>Morning After the Revolution<\/em>, is certainly light on \u201ckills,\u201d but, unfortunately, it\u2019s light on conviction as well. Reviewing some of the insanity of the past few years \u2014 BLM, CHAZ and abolish the police, trans activism \u2014 Bowles seldom offers insight, instead rehashing widely covered events with some wisecracks and colorful reporting thrown in. Whereas her takedown of Peterson was mean-spirited but unambiguous \u2014 she was a foot soldier of the progressive left \u2014 her new persona is a \u201chemming-and-hawing moderate\u201d willing to poke fun at anyone.<\/p>\n<p>In the format of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/t\/tgif\">satirical weekly news roundups<\/a>, this positioning works well. But that same tone doesn\u2019t translate well to a book-length review of the hottest issues of the past five years. By eschewing principled stances in favor of sarcasm, Bowles adds little to the conversation besides entertainment. <\/p>\n<p>When Johns Hopkins <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/06\/13\/john-hopkins-university-now-refers-to-lesbians-as-non-men-attracted-to-non-men\/\">defines<\/a> a lesbian as \u201ca non-man attracted to non-men,\u201d she can wisecrack, \u201cYep, that\u2019s me,\u201d but she does not follow that with a defense of her position on gender and sexuality. Her analysis falls prey to cynicism and the fallacy of moderation.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Fallacy of Moderation<\/h2>\n<p>Aristotle posited in the <em>Nicomachean Ethics<\/em> that a virtue is the golden mean between two vices. Between cowardice and recklessness lies courage. Between shyness and shamelessness lies modesty. This is a compelling ethical theory, but applying this principle in all situations \u2014 believing that truth is always found at the midpoint \u2014 is fallacious.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-34eed80e6ac5a3d4cf26a17aa5267abc fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-34eed80e6ac5a3d4cf26a17aa5267abc\"><\/div>\n<p>For instance, if I say the sky is red and you say it\u2019s yellow, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s orange. By the same token, if one side is pro-LGBTQIA+ and the other side supports traditional marriage, that doesn\u2019t make pro-LGB correct. On fundamental questions like, \u201cAre all white people racist?\u201d or \u201cAre trans women and biological women the same?\u201d humans need and deserve principled, thorough responses, not merely a splitting the difference between the rhetoric of the extreme left and right. Otherwise, your position depends on the whims of radicals.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Bowles, a married lesbian, is mealymouthed when examining whether the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/woke-comedy-manager-leaves-entertainment-industry-to-start-unsafe-space-podcast-after-seeing-the-light\/\" title=\"Woke Comedy Manager Leaves Entertainment Industry To Start \u2018Unsafe Space\u2019 Podcast After \u2018Seeing The Light\u2019\">trans movement<\/a> is a logical extension of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/progressives-capture-the-rainbow-flag-for-transgender-politics\/\" title=\"Progressives Capture the Rainbow Flag for Transgender Politics\">gay rights movement<\/a> or a hijacking of it. In a brief aside, she admits that she had a \u201ctomboy\u201d phase and may well have undergone hormone therapy were she a child today. <\/p>\n<p>She worries that trans activists claiming that biological males would have no advantage in sports \u2014 an obvious falsehood \u2014 will undermine something that seemed already settled: that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dangerous-theology-national-cathedral-faces-blowback-for-allowing-guest-preacher-who-opposes-homosexuality\/\" title=\"\u2018Dangerous Theology\u2019: National Cathedral Faces Blowback For Allowing Guest Preacher Who Opposes Homosexuality\">gay marriage<\/a> should be legal. She joked: \u201cI was feeling, honestly, a little crazed about it all \u2014<em> these doctors are neutering little gay kids <\/em>was my tone at dinner parties. <em>Everyone is erasing women<\/em> was something I would try to bring up in really inappropriate settings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then her Reform Jewish synagogue announced that the next \u201cTot Shabbat\u201d \u2014 the children\u2019s service \u2014 would be a drag queen story hour. Bowles initially panicked, but when the day came, the drag queen ended up giving a \u201cvery, <em>very <\/em>deeply Jewish Tot Shabbat.\u201d Bowles concludes, \u201cOur daughter loved it and so did I,\u201d because after all, she remembers \u201cbeing at drag bars as a teenager and how amazingly fun it was.\u201d On the biggest lightning-rod issue of our day, Bowles\u2019 conclusion is a shoulder shrug.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4bfb774fb04162480d3424ce57721589 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4bfb774fb04162480d3424ce57721589\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flippant to a Fault<\/h2>\n<p>When Bowles\u2019 book was first announced, <a href=\"https:\/\/global.penguinrandomhouse.com\/announcements\/ppgs-portfolio-establishes-thesis-new-imprint-debuting-spring-2023\/\">the press release<\/a> called it <em>Struggle Sessions<\/em>, evoking the repressive Soviet regime (and implying parallels with Bowles\u2019 former employer, The New York Times). But Bowles turns out to be no bomb-thrower, so perhaps it makes sense that the title ended up being <em>Morning After the Revolution<\/em>, implying that the BLM riots, CHAZ, and TERF\/trans showdowns have more in common with a one-night stand or binge drinking than a police state. The \u201cmorning after\u201d can be a little embarrassing upon reflection, but it\u2019s hardly cause for shock and alarm.<\/p>\n<p>This same lax attitude holds for Bowles\u2019 opinion of her own contributions to cancel culture. Here again, as an NYT darling-turned-outcast, one might expect some gory detail or hard-earned wisdom. Instead, the chapter \u201cThe Joy of Canceling\u201d opens by describing the \u201cpleasure\u201d of canceling someone:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>To do a cancellation is a very warm, social thing. It has the energy of a potluck. Everyone brings what they can, and everyone is impressed by the creativity of their friends.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Then, instead of meditating on the perverse incentives of cancel culture and what she learned, she merely says she lost her taste for blood once she fell in love. Bowles would end up marrying Bari Weiss, who was an editor for The New York Times until she wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bariweiss.com\/resignation-letter\">a viral resignation letter<\/a> accusing the Times of illiberalism, antisemitism, and a culture that viciously punished Wrongthink. Bowles left quietly a few months later.<\/p>\n<p>Bowles admits that she was never canceled the way Bari was. One wonders whether it\u2019s because she was too canny to be canceled or merely too milquetoast to be problematic. As the saying goes, it\u2019s good to have enemies: it means you\u2019ve stood up for something, at some time in your life. Bowles seems to have few.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Could Have Been<\/h2>\n<p><em>Morning After the Revolution <\/em>is plagued by all the books it could have been. <\/p>\n<p>There could have been Nellie Bowles, bona fide counter-elite: a product of San Francisco private schools, Columbia University, and The New York Times, now a columnist at The Free Press and critic of the culture she came from. Or Nellie Bowles, award-winning reporter, here to give the definitive retrospective on the insanity of 2020 bolstered with on-the-ground observations. Or Nellie Bowles, Hillary Clinton-supporting lesbian who finds herself now feted by the right-wingers in her comments section, trying to make sense of our new coalitions.<\/p>\n<p>Bowles does none of this. Instead, we have a book of outdated reporting \u2014 we already know BLM was a front, DiAngelo is a race hustler, and San Francisco is a hellhole \u2014 with wishy-washy analysis, punctuated with some blessed respites of humor. Bowles\u2019 refusal to make normative judgements makes her arguments tantalizing but ultimately unsatisfying because she never stakes out a position, never steps into the arena.<\/p>\n<p>Funnily enough, Jordan Peterson <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/WEP5ubPMGDU?t=202\">talks about<\/a> just this challenge. In his view, maturity requires progressing from naivete to cynicism to courage. Cynicism is better than naivete \u2014 at least you\u2019re not being fooled \u2014 but courage is better still: to stand for something, to aim higher rather than merely tear down.<\/p>\n<p><em>Morning After the Revolution <\/em>feels like a work in progress, a disillusioned progressive using irony as cover until she gets her bearings again. Bowles is smart, witty, and talented. A little more courage and conviction (dare I say, a little more Peterson?) would stand her in good stead.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ea942c23c0d55062c3567e757e6f89f8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ea942c23c0d55062c3567e757e6f89f8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2018, Nellie Bowles penned a critical profile of Jordan Peterson in The New York Times, labeling him a grifter and icon of incels. In 2021, she offered a subtle apology, reflecting on the unintended consequences of seeking virality. While not directly naming Peterson, she expressed regret for the collateral damage caused by her past actions at the Times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1418,"featured_media":2243288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}