Joyce Carol Oates is the kind of novelist from whom one can expect timely commentary. Even her fiction has always been plugged into a deeper political reality. Recent comments questioning the morality of ISIS, however, stand to be one of Joyce Carol’s all-time most controversial.
On Sunday afternoon, Oates took to the social media platform Twitter to ask a philosophical question about Islamic extremist group ISIS that unleashed a flurry of rage for its insensitivity about the horrors that those living under the bloodthirsty group suffer.
All we hear of ISIS is puritanical & punitive; is there nothing celebratory & joyous? Or is query naive?
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) November 22, 2015
With just this portion of Joyce Carol’s questioning isolated, it’s understandable that she found few supporters of her public statement. Separate from the rest of her idea, it seems especially callous and foolish — something many may still think when they read the full quote. Still, it’s important to consider Oates’ ISIS comment in its full context.
Cultures seem to swing between extremes of Puritanism & permissiveness; rigid order & disorder; control & “freedom.” — Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) November 22, 2015
Tragic that “meaning” can be virtually anything–someone will believe it & die for it.
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) November 22, 2015
There’s no question that what Carol Oates promotes here is difficult. The writer is presenting the idea that all societies have a certain set of ideals that serve as their “meaning” or “motivation” for structuring and imposing limits on how their citizens will function as a whole. Oates’ tweets aren’t necessarily a statement to excuse the actions of ISIS, but rather wondering if the mere objective consideration of the group is worthless. For better or worse, Joyce Carol Oates got plenty of answers.
@JoyceCarolOates They celebrate death and rejoice at the murder of anyone who doesn’t. — Mikhail Iossel (@Mikhail_Iossel) November 22, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates I’m sorry to see you getting slammed, Joyce, but, yes, rather naive.
— David Winner (@dwinnera) November 22, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates naive? Your query is downright the dumbest thing you’ve ever posted. That says a lot too @exjon — Kevin (@kevinpost) November 22, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates I’m calling 9-11 because you’re obviously either having a stroke or tied up while whoever’s holding you hostage tweets this
— turkey pardoner (@Sapiosexual_Rex) November 22, 2015
Most will dismiss Carol Oates’ tweet as pseudo-intellectual garbage at best and deeply offensive at worse. Still, it’s worth noting the role that an artist like herself fulfills in society. A writer known for jabbing at the public consciousness won’t stop doing so just because she’s likely to get a negative reaction.
It’s something Joyce Carol Oates has been doing long before social media existed, and that she will continue to do far into the future if she’s committed to her job. Though they were few and far between, a few commenters did answer Carol Oates’ ISIS comments beyond their initial gut reaction.
@JoyceCarolOates Killing others in almost all cultures remains a constant, sadly. — Anna Dunwell (@alldifferent) November 23, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates complete obedience to big brother, retaliation against that! Hope!Death, forgetfulness tragedy, catharsis, the end
— ????????? ?????? (@tarfahahmed) November 22, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates on another level, this flexibility of meaning can be our saving grace. Meaning can keep us alive in dire situations as well — Anwar Francis (@anwarkfrancis) November 22, 2015
@JoyceCarolOates I believe there used to be more respect for external authority. Now people more resent being corrected.
— JoeKoffee (@JoeKoffee) November 23, 2015
Is that to say that Joyce Carol Oates’ comments shouldn’t be criticized? Absolutely not. She approached an extremely sensitive, violent topic with a cold intellectualism that could easily be called reprehensible. If her ISIS comments make you hate her, then go ahead and hate her. She’s not Kim Kardashian. She’s not even Kanye West. She’s an intellectual whose job it is to ask difficult questions that aren’t being presented, no matter how tone deaf they might seem.
[Image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images]
