Art critic and New York Magazine columnist Jerry Saltz is telling his followers to “shun” anyone they know who voted republican, even if they are friends and family.
On Sunday, Saltz wrote on his Instagram page,
“If you know anyone who voted Republican — including friends and family — you should shun them. No need to even tell them that you are no longer communicating with them or why. You own [sic] it yourself, to them, your country, and any idea of moral damage.”
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Saltz’s divisive comments were made in response to a post of an old photo of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee dressed as a cheerleader in his high school’s yearbook. The post was made in protest of Lee banning drag queens from performing in front of children. The post also criticized the governor for outlawing sex change procedures and puberty blockers for minors, calling them “life-saving gender affirming care to children.”
Saltz seemed to compare the new protections to the violence of the Jim Crow era.
“And yes, they want to bring back lynching,” he wrote. “The Long American Night.”
Some commenters echoed Saltz’s comments, saying they supported cutting friends and family out of their life over their political differences.
“Distancing myself from my DNA family was one of the healthiest decisions I made in my life,” one user wrote.
But most condemned Saltz’s statement, calling the art critic “petty” and even “psychologically ill” for his suggestion.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald gave Saltz a thrashing on Twitter, writing that “[e]xcising everyone in your life who has different political views than you – including your parents, siblings and children – seems like a very psychologically unhealthy thing to do. Doing that as a journalist seems fatal to the job, as well as psychologically ill.”
Excising everyone in your life who has different political views than you – including your parents, siblings and children – seems like a very psychologically unhealthy thing to do.
Doing that as a journalist seems fatal to the job, as well as psychologically ill.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 6, 2023
It’s called hatred to cut off people just because they believe differently than you,” one Instagram user said. “Petty people that can’t survive in life unless everything and everyone believes like them.”
“You don’t shun family members,” another user said. Saltz responded, saying,
“You don’t. That is your choice. Thank you.”
Other commenters mocked Saltz, pointing out how ridiculous the statement was.
“In an age of depression and suicide, the best thing we can do is turn our backs on our support networks, which will somehow protect minorities, according to Jerry Saltz.”
Canadian professor Gad Saad replied sarcastically, “I disowned my children because they have used the verb ‘trumped.’”
Well done @jerrysaltz! I disowned my children because they have used the verb "trumped." I stand with you and my intellectual hero, the Malibu Meditator, in rejecting anyone who ever thought of voting for the party of the Great Unwashed. https://t.co/uaQg1764fg
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) March 7, 2023
The fact that Saltz was outraged over a law banning sexual performances in front of children was not lost on readers either.
“Sorry Jerry, babies/minors and drag shows don’t belong in the same room… we’ve lost our minds if we think this is appropriate.”
But Saltz doubled down anyways and defended his comments on Tuesday,
“If you buy the ticket for betraying your country, you take the ride.”
If you buy the ticket for betraying your country, you take the ride.
— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) March 7, 2023
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The art critic then compared Trump supporters to “hired freaks in some seedy carnival” and “100,000 vicious hyenas going berserk all at once.”
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