Sam Leith leads the anti-snark crusade in the Standard

Sam Leith hit out last night in The Evening Standard at snarky comments directed at Gwyneth Paltrow on the Daily Mail's website. The Mail article, "Veganism is SO last year", implies Paltrow's posting of a video showing her cooking roast chicken is incompatible with her "vegan sensibilities".

Leith is less interested in the story, however, than the "scratchy comments" posted underneath it by readers.

"A clever mechanism lets you see the “rating” of each comment — based on whether other readers have clicked to agree or disagree with the remark, and the handful of charitable comments were voted firmly into the red.

The most unpopular of all was: “I'm not a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow but well done. It's good to see her doing something she enjoys.”

Top of the pops, instead, were angry vegans and bluenoses affecting horror that she was handling raw meat before making salad (“Great cooking tips if you want samonela !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”) [sic].

The bare judgment “She is so BORING!!” had an approval rating of 306. Not only had someone written this — someone with, presumably, more interesting things to do — but more than 300 people had taken the trouble to put their agreement on the record.

This woman had the temerity — the temerity, look you — to make a video of herself cooking a simple recipe. Then the brass neck to make it available for free to people who want to watch it. How very dare she?

You're boring, Paltrow. I watched your video from beginning to end. Twice. Utter waste of time. And you're unhygienic: I could have got food poisoning if I'd followed your recipe — but I won't, because I don't need you to tell me how to cook chicken, Miss Snootydrawers, and besides I know better than you about food hygiene too, so there. Now I'm bashing furiously away at my keyboard to tell you so.

Baffling. And, alas, a weathervane. We are living in an age of hate: we cross the street to find new things and new people to despise, and get our kicks from despising them in public. Why live a life of your own when you can spend your waking hours hating the lives of people you've never met?"

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