An appreciation for my first boss, the longtime editor of The Nation and a lifelong defender of free speech and questioning authority. Plus, the worsening news from Israel/Palestine.
Lovely piece, Micah, and love the memo! It reminded me of the impact Victor’s first amendment absolutism had on me. (A ton. It was a big part of why I made a 180 degree turn on Dworkin’s anti-porn stuff). It also reminded me of the brown bag lunch you (I think it was you) organized with Lambda Legal and GMHC in the hopes it would lead to the magazine covering AIDS and other LGBTQ issues, but Victor missed it because he was in the Midwest giving a speech about McCarthy. I sometimes wonder how my life might have gone differently — what I might have learned from Victor, and all y’all, what contributions I would have made — if I hadn’t run off to J-school and stayed at The Nation longer.
Sweet stuff One day, maybe, I will share with you some of my own O’Dell stories. Hint: he was board chair of a certain network of leftist radios. Imagine if had pursued your idea of going to live on a Kibbutz You might today be in the Knesset...or in jail! :) hugs from Chile
Lovely piece, Micah, and love the memo! It reminded me of the impact Victor’s first amendment absolutism had on me. (A ton. It was a big part of why I made a 180 degree turn on Dworkin’s anti-porn stuff). It also reminded me of the brown bag lunch you (I think it was you) organized with Lambda Legal and GMHC in the hopes it would lead to the magazine covering AIDS and other LGBTQ issues, but Victor missed it because he was in the Midwest giving a speech about McCarthy. I sometimes wonder how my life might have gone differently — what I might have learned from Victor, and all y’all, what contributions I would have made — if I hadn’t run off to J-school and stayed at The Nation longer.
Sweet stuff One day, maybe, I will share with you some of my own O’Dell stories. Hint: he was board chair of a certain network of leftist radios. Imagine if had pursued your idea of going to live on a Kibbutz You might today be in the Knesset...or in jail! :) hugs from Chile