Statement from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[Immunetypegoblin]

www.chimamanda.com/, published yesterday.

She is angry. One can understand why. One to watch I think.

What a wonderful writer. Such conviction. She just takes you with her. It's effortless.

OhHolyJesus have you read "We should all be feminists" by CNA? It's a long essay and it's really brilliant.

I saw Nicola Sturgeon interview Chimamanda a few years ago at Edinburgh Book Festival. It was probably the best event I have ever attended there and I was absolutely star struck. At the time, Nicola was an obvious fan of her's but judging by Nicola's most recent "feminist" comments, I doubt she'd want to be associated with her now. Maybe they'll be demanding Nicola denounce her.

Wow - powerful stuff. I read the article and straight away went and ordered one of her books (Half of a Yellow Sun).

What a powerful essay, I hope it gets wider audience.

I read Half A Yellow Moon last year and would highly recommend.

Apologies it’s Half A Yellow Sun, not moon!

In certain young people today like these two from my writing workshop, I notice what I find increasingly troubling: a cold-blooded grasping, a hunger to take and take and take, but never give; a massive sense of entitlement; an inability to show gratitude; an ease with dishonesty and pretension and selfishness that is couched in the language of self-care; an expectation always to be helped and rewarded no matter whether deserving or not; language that is slick and sleek but with little emotional intelligence; an astonishing level of self-absorption; an unrealistic expectation of puritanism from others; an over-inflated sense of ability, or of talent where there is any at all; an inability to apologize, truly and fully, without justifications; a passionate performance of virtue that is well executed in the public space of Twitter but not in the intimate space of friendship.

She absolutely nails it here.

I've also red half a yellow sun. Going to order her others. Brilliant. Thanks for sharing OP.

I love Chimimanda and I completely understand her frustration, hurt and anger but I don't think it is a great piece of writing. Making it so specific about two, quite easily identifiable people - even though they have behaved dreadfully- turns it into an online feud. I think the things she touches upon - the difficulty of being in a position of power and being used/having people use your name to further themselves - is really interesting but the "then she said... then she did..." form of it is, for me, unpleasant.

a massive sense of entitlement; an inability to show gratitude; an ease with dishonesty and pretension and selfishness that is couched in the language of self-care; an expectation always to be helped and rewarded no matter whether deserving or not; I think this has happened to some young people because of the 'prizes' for everyone' education they receive. The potential for toxicity is proving to be very real and should not be unexpected though NAYPALT (not all young people are like that).

Maybe that's also a reason why no-debate is so popular Me Mine trumps everything

The last few paragrahs really sum up to me where we are now

That’s an incredible piece of writing. Part 3 is so well-articulated. The ideological purity demanded makes me so uncomfortable - puts me in mind of all previous incarnations of this type of thinking. It really raises my hackles.

Great article. She's furious, and rightly so!

I think this section:

And in a deluded way, you will convince yourself that your hypocritical, self-regarding, compassion-free behavior is in fact principled feminism. It isn’t. You will wrap your mediocre malice in the false gauziness of ideological purity. But it’s still malice. You will tell yourself that being able to parrot the latest American Feminist orthodoxy justifies your hacking at the spirit of a person who had shown you only kindness. You can call your opportunism by any name, but it doesn’t make it any less of the ugly opportunism that it is.

Could be applied to the ungrateful Potter actors word for word, the little turds.

G

I get where you are coming from @everythingcrossed, but I don't agree. People have a right to defend themselves, to correct lies and untruths and it is very hard to do that without naming them.

Perhaps pre social media taking the high road, turning the other cheek, maintaining a dignified silence was an effective strategy to neutralise such bad faith actors. There was no way to endlessly magnify and amplify bad faith comments, so they would over time dissipate. Now these comments are permanent and can be reinvigorated by a few likes and re tweets. It is so so easy to destroy reputations.

Not responding means that in 10/20/30 years time, when we look back, only one very warped side would be visible and knowable. Getting her experience on the record I think is very important.

That said, part 3 stands on its own and it is blistering. I keep challenging myself, wondering if I am turning into my parents generation , spouting shit like 'political correctness gone mad' as offensive views and terminology were correctly called as such. This essay lays the new puritanism bare. This is not progressive thinking, it is regressive, and aggressive, and reactionary and ultimately very very empty.

I've only read one fiction piece by her. Don't remember the title. It was a short story in the New Yorker, I think, and told from the viewpoint of Melania Trump. And it was pure genius. (Ah. Found it. The Arrangements in the New York Review of Books, late June 2016)

I've always loved her courage in tackling the TRA bullshit head on.

Not the biggest fan of her writing. Left me a bit cold. However. I appreciate someone sticking their neck out and using their gift to express their views on this.

Powerful and so painful. Tragic to see women's support and friendships being tainted by an adherence to this this toxic movement.

Making it so specific about two, quite easily identifiable people - even though they have behaved dreadfully- turns it into an online feud.

But that's the point of the piece. It isn't purely an essay, it's a statement.

Like JKR's piece, she's addressing stuff being written about her, and has taken the opportunity to turn the statement into more of an essay.

That is such a powerful piece. What a woman.

@JustcameoutGC

I get where you are coming from *@everythingcrossed*, but I don't agree. People have a right to defend themselves, to correct lies and untruths and it is very hard to do that without naming them.

Perhaps pre social media taking the high road, turning the other cheek, maintaining a dignified silence was an effective strategy to neutralise such bad faith actors. There was no way to endlessly magnify and amplify bad faith comments, so they would over time dissipate. Now these comments are permanent and can be reinvigorated by a few likes and re tweets. It is so so easy to destroy reputations.

Not responding means that in 10/20/30 years time, when we look back, only one very warped side would be visible and knowable. Getting her experience on the record I think is very important.

That said, part 3 stands on its own and it is blistering. I keep challenging myself, wondering if I am turning into my parents generation , spouting shit like 'political correctness gone mad' as offensive views and terminology were correctly called as such. This essay lays the new puritanism bare. This is not progressive thinking, it is regressive, and aggressive, and reactionary and ultimately very very empty.

I agree with you, @JustcameoutGC - she has every right to defend herself but, like you, I found the third section where she isn't detailing the specifics of the way she was treated by the two women she befriended, much more compelling . She's a sensational writer, I felt this wasn't her best work.

Fookin hell mate, that's a blistering piece. I do hope Chimimanda doesn't shame and cancel people herself.

It's the young people who ultimately lose out. Twitter isn't real life and nobody will bow to their laughable demands outside their carefully shielded bubble. Like everyone else, they'll have to actually roll with the punches. We do them no favours at all by letting them think that they deserve 'safe space'.

Dang. She's a Goddess. Well done her for sticking up for herself. She's one of my favourite authors. I highly recommend Americanah if you haven't read it.

Ooooft, part three in particular is so cutting, I need to go and find a plaster!

Powerful stuff.

I like the fact she’s written an essay because it can take a lot of explaining to really take apart this Puritanism and get to the bottom of it. People can make clear valid points on Twitter and just get shouted down by a facetious straw man argument or “educate yourself”. She carried me along by starting with her personal story (and why shouldn’t she be personal about someone who has used her name and publicly attacked her?) and then getting to her general rant about the whole situation. She hasn’t held back that she’s fucking furious, good for her.

It’s so true about the violence - very often the ones who bang on about GC views “killing” people are the ones who in the same breath make threats of violence and murder. It’s really noticeable how almost every accusation against feminists and GC people actually describes TRA attitudes and behaviour far more accurately.