Easily Confused

“I’ve been doing this for 38 years. I don’t care what you do, there’s always going to be someone that shows up saying, ‘I didn’t know about this.’ Because people want to be spoon-fed. And I’ve also learned over the years that no matter how much you publicize, how much you print, how much you provide, most people — not all, but most — don’t read it. . . . 

“Most people don’t want to be confused with the facts.” 

—Jay Bender, grocery owner and mayor of Pollocksville, N.C., since 1982, in Charles Bethea, “What Happens When the News Is Gone?” The New Yorker, Jan. 27, 2020.

 

• Editorial Comment: We’re confused enough as it is.

 

PeezPix

Low-tech selfie

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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard