We Will Not Capitulate to Bullies

Even though it's scary. Even though we are watching others do it.

It’s a dangerous moment in American history to be a writer.

This week, for the first time in over 13 years of writing publicly, I was visited by a deep sense of unease about what is safe to share online.

This feeling was influenced, in large part, by the abrupt cancellation of the Kimmel show, which, for me, symbolized a swift fall off the cliff of democracy, but was also triggered by an anecdote shared by writer Jo Piazza, who was detained prolongingly (and with no explanation) by customs on a return trip from Japan, and who reminded her Substack readers this week of the importance of paywalls to protect writers’ safety.

When I posted innocuously about having sold my Disney stock and canceling our streaming services, I did not expect the torrent of conversation that would follow, not to mention the wave of hate it would receive.