Well folks, we are in the endgame now: The penultimate Feeney’s Focus! I can’t believe my time at The Daily Campus is almost over. This newspaper and this column mean so much to me. It made me believe in my writing again and has given me the chance to work with so many talented and wonderful people.
A question I am commonly asked is: “What made you want to be a journalist?” Quite simply, a desperate need to be the center of attention combined with — as my lovely commentators have pointed out — a debilitating victim complex created the perfect tag team for me to have a weekly column complaining about the world. Lord knows that we need another straight white man to tell people how the world works!
Just kidding… mostly.
In all seriousness, both my parents are educators, and they have always emphasized the importance of staying informed on current events. I asked a lot of questions when I was a kid about history and politics, factors that are definitely important. To be even more specific, I think of a quote from Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, from his last show in 2015.
“I say to you tonight my friends, the best defense against bullshit is vigilance: so if you smell something, say something.” I wanted to be someone saying something; I always internalized Stewart’s message as a call to be cold, dispassionate and focused on holding those in power accountable for their… well, bullsh*t.
Above all else, that is where I’ve tried to target my writing. From bipartisan praise of mass murders, far-right antisemitic hypocrisy, ignoring basic ethics and even excessive parking tickets; all of these, and many more, have varying degrees of bullsh*t woven into them.
But something interesting has happened since I started writing in August: I have evolved as a writer. I have always considered myself extremely efficient when it comes to analysis, research and a general distrust of leadership that is needed to be able to accurately present a story.
My evolution didn’t happen in the above categories I mentioned (if anything I just got better at those, but what can I say? I am incredibly talented).
What fundamentally changed the way I approached my writing was the attacks of Oct. 7 and their aftermath. I’ve alluded to this before, but for those of you who don’t know, I grew up on Long Island. This is a region with historically strong support for Israel.
Look: What happened on Oct. 7 was horrible, no way around it. What was even worse was what happened after that day. I saw so many people I knew personally advocating for complete and total militarism in the region, calling for total annihilation.
In the aftermath of Oct. 7 and seeing so many people I know call for bloodlust, I began reading and learning about the history of Palestine to the point that I became obsessed with it. As Israel’s brutality carried on, what seemed like an unjustifiable and brutal response to me, I still saw so many people I know continue to support the total devastation in Gaza.
I could explain all the ways that the Israeli government and military have abused, embarrassed and worsened the lives of Palestinians for nearly a century. Yet, people wouldn’t listen or didn’t even care. By now you are probably wondering: “You started your column talking about what inspired you to be a journalist, now you’re talking about Israel’s genocide in Gaza? How do you plan on digging your column out of this weird hole?”
My point is, as I watched more defending of the indefensible, I only had one recurring thought: “this is bullsh*t.” I was smelling something for sure. But ultimately, I feel like I didn’t say enough; I was too scared of the backlash, the criticism and the anger that sharing my thoughts on the matter would cause.
But that is a part of journalism; it isn’t your job to share what people want to hear, you give them what they need to hear. So, friends, as I say farewell for one of the last tines, I will leave you with the words of a wise old late-night host: “If you smell something, say something.”