A review by mattbreading
Dirtbag: Essays by Amber A'Lee Frost

3.75

I’ve always been seemingly one step away from “getting” the Chapo schtick. And that’s not to say I didn’t try! Wayyy back when (2016) I craved the social media points of a follower seeing I also follow Felix or even better, thinking that another doom scroller might find themselves come across an endlessly verbose takedown of some politician with my account showing “Liked by.” I’ve been lucky enough to have been totally divorced from this style of political commentary for a while now, and reading this book was a total reversion. Of course, Chapo and Frost created something valuable. It was the first time real, smart people felt angry about things I felt angry about and said things I didn’t know I felt! But their schtick, while bemoaning academic takedowns, parrots their language in a way that is inaccessible to even those largely sympathetic and with similar academic credentials. I’ve never found Chapo adjacent media succinct or digestible and this book serves as another tally. But above all, the Chapo and dirtbag calling card just seems like they wanted to say mean things about people that were universally condemned by “their side”. Wait - we can call people pedophiles 😂 ? It’s no wonder these people started their shift rightward. They never cared about political change, they just wanted to have a circle of peers that allowed them to say “acceptable” slurs under the guise of political commentary. Frost is still a gifted orator with interesting stories to tell when she can get out of her way (read, not take a needless unfunny pot shot). Oh well - maybe Bernie will run in 2028!