RETURN TO LAKE WOBEGON
Oh, shit. Here we go again.

(Nod to Joe.My.God. for the link; earlier TRL entries here and here.)

After last week's dust-up, I thought a bit about what the reactions had been to Garrison Keillor's original Salon column. I know this is a broad generalization, but it seemed to me that those of us who write fiction 'got' the Keillor piece more often than those who tend to stick strictly to news and opinion pieces. I'm not trying to imply that anyone is especially dumb or unimaginative (except... well, you know who I'm thinking about), but I wonder if there are basic personality facets that make the people who create their own worlds more accepting -- or at least, less reactive -- to others who create their own worlds, especially when notoriously tricky literary devices like drollery, satire and irony are employed.

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong about that. But I do know that I'd rather be the type of person who can look at words on a page and enter a story, then one who sees only stark black and white letters with no room for interpretation.

In the meantime, let a thousand blogs be heard as they rise in unison and scream 'your apology is not good enough, Keillor!' I'll be sitting here tending to The Rob Log, where all the readers are strong, all the commenters are good-looking, and all the reciprocal linkers are above average.


UPDATE: I don't know this person, but this is a brilliant analysis of the situation. I will pay it the highest compliment: I wish I had written it, and will probably tell people who don't read my blog that I did.