Maybe I shouldn’t write a post about Jeffrey Gettleman. I have a vague remembrance of his tenure in Atlanta journalism as naive poppycock. I mean, look at the hair.
But he was young.
Since then, he found his footing as one of the most unbiased writers at the New York Times, focusing on Africa and other foreign correspondence. Maybe being away from the Times offices has given him an admirably more realistic view of geopolitics. Not Theodore Dalrymple realistic ( I recommend Zanzibar to Timbuktu; Monrovia, Mon Amour, and Coups and Cocaine to understand young Dalyrmple foreign correspondent realism).
Today, Gettleman published a searing article in the New York Times. In it, he describes, in as much detail as possible, evidence of the joyous and videotaped mass rapes, mutilations, and murders of females (and also raped males) during the Hamas attack of October 7.
I woke up at 3 a.m., as usual (damn dogs), and once I ploughed through the Daily Mail and New York Post and wordle and other warm-up stuff, Gettleman’s article, “‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7” was the top article on the internet version of the New York Times: in other words, top left corner.
It was beyond description.
And it’s not there anymore.
You can still find it on the Times website using the specific title. For now. But it has caused immense consternation on social media from Gaza-loving morons who think chopping a woman’s breast off and using it as a soccer ball while raping her to death is sorta anti-Islam, so I recommend printing out a hard copy, sitting down by your toilet so you can puke as you read it, and don’t expect it to be there tomorrow.
I am beginning to realize that whenever I see something significant on the internet, I need to print it out right away, before it gets disappeared. Yes, you can still find the article. But this work of genius restraint and professionalism by Jeffrey Gettleman has been shifted and removed from the on-line front page, and I won’t be surprised if it dissapears entirely.
If it does, I have a hard copy. Which I will have of everything from now on. Sorry, Jeffrey, for ever doubting you. As the victim of a brutal rape by a nascent serial killer, I had to take it one sentence at a time.
Good on you. The hair is O.K. Maybe, a bit less gel.