Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz earlier this week urged his Instagram followers to "shun" people they know who voted Republican — "including friends and family."
Saltz wrote on the social media platform, "... 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 owe it to yourself, to them, your country, and any idea of moral damage. And yes, they want to bring back lynching. The Long American Night."
Saltz's comments piggybacked on criticism of Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and a photo of him from his 1977 yearbook, Fox News said. The photo shows a young Lee wearing a wig, cheerleader uniform, and a pearl necklace — which leftists pounced on as hypocritical since Lee recently signed a bill banning drag shows for children.
Saltz has his fans, to be sure, and a number of them agreed with his sentiments. However, other observers didn't quite see things his way:
Legal scholar Jonathan Turley tweeted in reaction to Saltz's post, "In an age of rage, he who lacks any reason is King."
Professor, author, and social media influencer Gad Saad offered the following sarcastic tweet: "Well done [Jerry Saltz]! 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."
Journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted, "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."
Interestingly, Saltz responded to Greenwald's critique: "Republicans, as they are, no longer have what might be called your polite 'political views.' They are anti-democratic, authoritarian. But you know this already and want to shade things to 'both sides.' Fine by me. I seem to have caused a rumble up in your office."
On Monday, Saltz had some related vitriol to air on Twitter: "All of Right Wing media and #Maga Republicans are like hired freaks in some seedy carnival — the freaks who bite the heads off chickens. Now they just bite the heads off people."
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