I said my last post about Matt Taibbi would be my last post about Matt Taibbi. Turns out I was wrong. I have something more to say.

Matt wrote a truly outstanding essay 24 years ago. The whole thing is worth reading, not just for the points it makes about media propaganda but also for the masterful quality of its writing.

In it, Matt explained the Israel-Palestine conflict in as clear terms as any description I’ve seen:

But Palestinians have a very simple reason to hate Americans. Americans are supporting the occupation of their country by Israel. Israeli armed forces, the same people who are bulldozing neighborhoods and shooting into crowds, use American weapons— even American missiles. The United States is basically a colonial aggressor to most Palestinians, some 360,000 of which are living as refugees in Lebanon.

Things have obviously gotten somewhat more complicated and a great deal more violent since October 7, 2023. But not that much more complicated. The occupation is still the occupation. The Palestinians are still stateless. And now they’re being ethnically cleansed in Gaza and as we lose our free speech rights here in America. The factor that has changed is that there was a horrific massacre and mass kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and civilians by Hamas which was the proximate cause of Israel’s current genocidal military campaign. Israel is now exacting its revenge. These are the basic outlines of the situation today. This isn’t rocket science, or sophisticated financial instruments.

Yet this is Matt from a year ago, after being asked where he stands on Israel’s genocide in Gaza:

Israel Palestine is a story I have never liked to comment on . . . it’s a very, very complicated story with a lot of history and I don’t know anything about it.

There are things about this story that make me nervous and i feel like the first rule in medicine is “do no harm,” so if I don't say anything, I'm not doing any harm.

I don't want to talk about this thing, I just . . . don't.

I don't feel like I need to be in the middle of it . . . I just don't want to chime in.

And here’s Matt from yesterday:

I’m not on anybody’s side, don’t want to be.

Since I’m not going to be reporting from Gaza, what’s being demanded is that I provide commentary on a subject about which I know very little but the whole world already has Extremely Strong Opinions.

A younger Matt Taibbi didn’t show that this kind of hesitation or lack of confidence on this particular topic. What changed between 2001 and now? Has he become less knowledgable about the conflict in that nearly quarter century? Or have the incentives shifted?

Miss Rachel is not an expert on the Middle East, either. She’s never gone and reported from Gaza. My kids love her. They learn a lot from her. So could Matt.

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