Leave Poor Joel Stein Alone

Joel Stein, who evidently still exists, loses it here at the many readers who e-mail him. It's not a policy I can sympathize with -- having only the occasional comment around here -- but Stein gets points for honesty. He might think he's being sarcastic, but these two passages are a pretty accurate reflection of the writerly id:

Here's what my Internet-fearing editors have failed to understand: I don't want to talk to you; I want to talk at you. A column is not my attempt to engage in a conversation with you. I have more than enough people to converse with. And I don't listen to them either.

A lot of e-mail screeds argue that, in return for the privilege of broadcasting my opinion, I have the responsibility to listen to you. I don't. No more than you have a responsibility to read me. I'm not an elected servant. I'm an arrogant, solipsistic, attention-needy freak who pretends to have an opinion about everything.