Molly Jong-Fast knows she doesn’t know everything.
So she sticks to writing about what she knows.
Like women’s issues. The absurdity of the Trump administration. The fact that Republicans can’t quite figure out when life begins (conception? Or after children are ripped from their families at ICE detention facilities?).
And nepotism.
“I come from a famous family,” she says. “I know it well.”
Jonathan Fast, Erica Jong and Molly Jong-Fast.
Her mother and father were novelists. (You may have heard of them: Erica Jong and Jonathan Fast.)
Her paternal grandfather — Howard Fast — was a noted writer too. He became a political figure when he was jailed for refusing to name names in the McCarthy Era.
Jong-Fast’s in-laws are politically active too. Stewart and Connie Greenfield have spent decades working for — and running for office as — Democrats in Westport.
Erica Jong and Jonathan Fast lived in Manhattan and Weston. Molly went to pre-school and kindergarten here. She attended Singing Oaks Day Camp, and rode horses there. Her roots in this area are deep.
Which is why her appearance this Sunday (October 20, 2:30 p.m., Westport Library) is a bit of a homecoming.
The event is the Democratic Women of Westport’s Fall Forum. The title: “How We Can Use Social Media to Beat Trump.”
Molly Jong-Fast
Jong-Fast is no newcomer to the topic. She is a social media veteran. She has over 300,000 Twitter followers (and has tweeted 169,000 times). She’s active on Instagram and other sites, and is a regular contributor to the Daily Beast, Playboy and The Bulwark.
Her bona fides include Tucker Carlson calling her “not super smart.” But she has been skewered by Democrats too: Marianne Williamson once called Molly’s mother to complain.
Jong-Fast began her writing career as a novelist. Her satirical bent found an outlet after the 2016 election.
“Because I’m dyslexic, my brain has always been a bit off,” she says. “In English class, I’d always give the wrong answer to what a book was about.”
However, she notes, “that helps me make connections that are not always the usual ones. They’re not necessarily right or better. But they’re different.”
Her talk on Sunday will build on a theme she’s tweeted and written about often: the need for ordinary citizens to be “the public editor,” calling out disinformation wherever it appears.
But isn’t social media just an echo chamber? Whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, don’t we all listen only to the people we agree with politically?
Not necessarily, Jong-Fast says. “Every Democrat has a cousin who watches Fox News. You have to find that person, and engage with them.”
She worries about the state of our nation. “How do you get the white nationalism genie back in the bottle?” she wonders. “And misogyny, discrimination, the judiciary — it’s a disaster.”
However, she says, “the Democrats won the House in the mid-terms. Polling shows more and more people interested in impeachment. And the younger generation is awesome.”
Tweet that!
(Sunday’s event with Molly Jong-Fast is free, but space is limited. Click here to reserve a seat.)
Wasting your time😂
BTW: most Republicans believe that Life begins at conception when your soul starts the life process.
once the child is born republicans cheapen the quality of their school lunch,take away their health care, give them poor education, and insult their mother. Just like Jesus said in the bible.
Mr Woog: Isn’t there enough political trash talk from all sides without adding to it?
👍🏼👍🏼
Hardly trash talk, a guide to engaging in effective political conversation that leads to the removal of our Trash Talker in Chief.
The world improves when we listen to people in the arts.
The World improves when we don’t paint everyone in one group with one brush.
I agree. Geeeez.
There are times when I miss Westport. And times when I don’t.
No might be one of those times.
😂😂
I am an immigrant to the US. I arrived here in 2005. I was honored to be granted citizenship in 2011. I was inspired to become a citizen following the election of Barack Obama in 2008. For me that was a pivotal moment in the history of this country and seemed to be a sure sign of the maturity of its democracy and society. Not everyone loved Barack Obama but, that fact notwithstanding, he, in my view at least, tried hard to be everyone’s president and a man who understood the importance of vigorous debate in moving the country forward. For 6 of his 8 years in office, despite a congress that did not exactly support his agenda and the obvious frustration that followed, he did not lose sight of the need for a president to continuously strive to be the president for the entire “United” States of America. A greater contrast with the present incumbent of the Oval Office is very difficult to imagine. The current president makes no secret of the fact that he is only interested in those support him and those who further his interests. I do not think that he will be removed from office except by the ballot box in November 2020 and that is by no means a certainty. However, if he is defeated in 2020, I fear for the consequences. In 2008, John McCain conceded with grace and pushed a unifying message to his disappointed supporters. In 2012, Mitt Romney took a little longer but ultimately did the right thing for the country. These are actions necessary for the peaceful transition of power. I do not think that the current president will follow that important playbook if he loses. He has after all adopted the extraordinary suggestion that his removal from office would lead to a civil war. All citizens should be shocked to their core by this. The only people who benefit from this country’s disunity are this country’s enemies. Putin is a child of the Soviet Union who saw the actions of this country bring down the Soviet Union. Would anyone be surprised at the joy he will feel if he is able to engineer a similar fate for the United States of America?
Right now the thing that this country needs above all else is to remember Abraham Lincoln’s words: “A house divided against itself, cannot stand” I truly hope this is not what is in store for us.
It’s our patriotic duty to do everything we can (legally) to prevent Trump’s re-election. I’m alarmed by anyone who doesn’t realize that.
Someone with an opinion that tweets a lot…
Impressive.
#Trump2020!
#MAGA!
#KAG!
My attorneys gone again. M a g a