mjp
Founding member
I don't like John Martin. I find he falls short in what it takes to be a good human or a good Christian Scientist (though admittedly I don't know what a good Christian Scientist would look like), so I understand that my view of anything having to do with him is hopelessly skewed.
So you tell me, is this one of the most condescending and insulting letters you've ever read, or am I imagining things? I think we've all seen condescension from Martin to Bukowski many, many times, but I've never read a sustained barrage of smiling contempt like this before.
I won't point out the many specific parts that I find ridiculous, because I could be making something where there is nothing (and because it's more or less every word of the letter). But if I got a letter like this from a publisher who called me friend, I'd question whether he knew what that meant.
It sounds like a memo from a boss to an employee, not a conversation between equals. A boss who layers on the passive-aggressive insults and meanwhile believes that all of his employees love him him because he's "cool" and "generous."
So you tell me, is this one of the most condescending and insulting letters you've ever read, or am I imagining things? I think we've all seen condescension from Martin to Bukowski many, many times, but I've never read a sustained barrage of smiling contempt like this before.
I won't point out the many specific parts that I find ridiculous, because I could be making something where there is nothing (and because it's more or less every word of the letter). But if I got a letter like this from a publisher who called me friend, I'd question whether he knew what that meant.
It sounds like a memo from a boss to an employee, not a conversation between equals. A boss who layers on the passive-aggressive insults and meanwhile believes that all of his employees love him him because he's "cool" and "generous."