>> Calling Michaels a "prick" or "assholic" based simply on listening to
>> the interview is total projection.
>
> I'm really taken aback by the vitriol people are directing against
> him. Makes me wonder if he's struck a nerve.
Let me try to hazard a guess as to why he elicits that kind of reaction. There are (A) some people who only think in terms of identity politics and who don't like to think too hard about capitalism. There are also (B) some people who think about both, and about the interactions between them. Those in category B often strive mightily to enlighten those in category A; they try to make the latter see the importance of class. But it's a delicate task, because those in category A can often be *really* touchy, hyper-PC, and ready to throw around insinuations of racism or quasi-racism, in the style of that stormy Tim Wise email. Michaels' polemic, by critiquing the already excitable A's with such bluntness and astringency, is like throwing a rubber ball into a room packed wall-to-wall with set mousetraps. It only makes the work of the B's that much harder.
It's just a guess.
SA