Controversy! Outcry! Junk food!

Being a writer in the age of the internet has some amazing perks: more people have access to my work, it gets to them incredibly fast, and it is easier than ever for them to leave comments and feedback. The downside to this, I’m learning, is that it is quicker and easier than ever for readers to leave impetuous, accusatory, and sometimes just plain nasty comments. I received one (not so nasty, but not positive, either) recently regarding my CHOW.com article, and I’m going to post it below so you can get a sense of how eager some people are to read too deeply, or maybe to stir up trouble. I thank my commenter for sharing his own opinion, kindly remind him that he does not know me, and respectfully suggest that he go get a snack. You’re sounding kind of cranky. There is one major similarity between writers and politicians: We quickly learn to form a thick skin.

[Note: I do take some pleasure in the typos. Come on people, if you're going give me a hard time, at least do it with good grammar and spelling.]

The choice of Bill Clinton contradicts your very own selection criteria: Presidents who promoted good food while in office. In fact, he was known for his fondness of the antithesis, junk food. He also did not embrace organic food. You forthrightly admit both these things …and yet he still makes your top 10 ten list! Then you tout his post presidency work which is food-related but has nothing to do with the central “good (foodie) food” focus of Chow.com or your article’s theme. Your belief in Bill’s political good taste is the reason you included him in the list. From there, you make an awkward, transparent name drop/plug for Hillary during the primary’s most critical stage. Whoa…I though this article was
about Presidents not First Ladys.

It’s obvious you’re a committed Democrat who can’t write a light hearted food article without putting your politics into it. Given the astute Chow.com audience, do you really think no one sees the inherent bias? Do you really think you’ll pull in some votes from wavering independents? The lead sentence takes a short at H.W. Bush and distorts his dislike of broccoli into a general “dislike of vegetables”. I actually could enjoy reading your writing if it was truly about food and void of politics.

Thanks for reading my comments.