Posts Tagged ‘friendship’
How I Finally Learned Something From Emily Gould
For a long time, I detested Emily Gould’s New York Times Magazine story, “Exposed”. I thought it was an overlong, self-indulgent, too insidery, navel-gazing piece of crap that was completely inappropriate for the Times.
But since I started interning at Gawker (which I’d read throughout Emily’s tenure as its editor), I’ve developed a kind of meta-obsession with Gawker itself. So I went on a little nostalgia kick and started reading old posts, studying the former editors’ work, and voyeuristically devouring the sordid drama of Nick Denton’s twisted little media/sociology experiment. Especially circa 2007. Those kids were nuts.
At the same time, I was preparing to turn this blog into more than just a portfolio of my work. I was ready to move beyond the banalities of the LiveJournal I’d kept in high school (Ha!) and commit myself to some serious personal blogging. (Double ha!)
So as I re-read Emily’s piece, I started to view her story in a different light. A more forgiving light. And somehow, it began to resonate with me. I had begun appreciate it on some small level, for reasons I did not yet fully know.
How to Not Be a Dick in 3 Easy Steps!
I am, for the most part, done with this subject. But in addition to the professional “consequences,” my little experiment in confessional-style Internet commentary had some (unexpected) personal ramifications, too. In other words, there are certain people (former friends, I suppose?) at WSN who take things too personally. This is mildly relevant, but only as setup. So keep it in mind, or something.
Anyway, if you happened to be in the second floor computer lounge of NYU’s Kimmel Center this afternoon, you may have witnessed the (pretty common) scene of me, cursing loudly at the expense of my friend’s certain embarrassment. At least two students noticed: a pair of dark-haired girls in NYU sweatshirts, giggling awkwardly at each other over their laptops and trying not to stare.
Such instances are not unordinary with me. You might think it’s a bad, or even rude, habit to so eagerly (and vocally) call people out on their bullshit. And you’re probably right, but that’s another issue altogether. The point is: I do this a lot, and often to the chagrin of whichever unlucky friends are with me at the time.
But it is unusual for the humiliated bystander to become my victim. That’s what happened today.
