James Payne
Jul 22, 2017 · 2 min read

I am horribly disappointed with Caitlin Johnstone here. I started following her a few months ago, after I read an article concerning the deep state power structure and the need to fight the establishment. But lately I’ve been seeing more and more extreme articles from her that concern me greatly — in particular, her calls on John McCain to “just die already” bothered me quite a bit. This, however — this article has opened my eyes quite a bit.

I’m sorry that Ms. Johnstone couldn’t handle valid criticism and instead painted it as though you were being hypocritical by pointing out a clear flaw in her argument. This was quite eye-opening for me. It’s one thing to advocate resisting the establishment’s moves that do not work for ordinary people (and particularly people of color, who get nailed so much worse than white folks like me do). It’s one thing to advocate resisting the deep state.

But to advocate working with someone like Mike Cernovich — who, I confess, I knew nothing about before reading this article — just because he agreed with one of her posts? Working with people on the right is one thing, but alt-right and anti-establishment right are not always necessarily the same thing, and all of the comments made about wanting to work with folks who simply want to supplant the current establishment — particularly because the establishment is not extreme enough for their tastes — are not unreasonable. It’s indefensible, and, I would argue, irresponsible.

Fighting for a system that works for ALL of us, regardless of race, religion, sex, orientation, or anything like that, is what we should be striving for. The left and the right can absolutely work together on that. But to advocate working with someone like Cernovich, then double down on that when people understandably object to it, and to attack her critics as though they are attacking her? That doesn’t advance a cause that’s good for any of us. I hope Ms. Johnstone can open herself up enough to accept criticism like this in the future, and understands that there’s more to this than just beating the establishment. Allying with people like Cernovich hurts us in the long run when it comes to fighting for equality for everyone.

Thank you for writing this article. Gave me a lot to think about.

    James Payne

    Written by

    Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
    Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
    Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade