Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag (January 28, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was a well-known American essayist, novelist, left-leaning intellectual and controversial activist.

Controversies

Sontag sparked controversy for her remarks in The New Yorker (September 24, 2001) about the immediate aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Sontag wrote:

Related Topics:
The New Yorker - September 24 - 2001 - September 11th, 2001 attacks - Washington, D.C. - Pennsylvania

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:"Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a 'cowardly' attack on 'civilization' or 'liberty' or 'humanity' or 'the free world' but an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions... f the word "cowardly" is to be used, it might be more aptly applied to those who kill from beyond the range of retaliation, high in the sky, than to those willing to die themselves in order to kill others. In the matter of courage (a morally neutral virtue): Whatever may be said of the perpetrators of Tuesday's slaughter, they were not cowards."

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In the heat of passions following 9/11, this passage, which echoed many similar statements from such media figures as Bill Maher and Noam Chomsky, similarly drew a great deal of controversy and criticism, most notably from such figures as Andrew Sullivan and Ed Koch.

Related Topics:
Bill Maher - Noam Chomsky - Andrew Sullivan - Ed Koch

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Many of Sontag's obituaries failed to mention her significant same-sex relationships, most notably with photographer Annie Leibovitz. This was widely reported by some blog siteshttp://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_01_02_dish_archive.html#110494343602883140 http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_01_02_dish_archive.html#110487169389650037 http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_01_02_dish_archive.html#110504242721452792 and the alternative press http://www.gaycitynews.com/gcn_354/thetimescuriousreticence.html http://www.baywindows.com/news/2005/01/06/NationalNews/Notes.On.susan-830801.shtml. In response to this criticism, The New York Times Public Editor Daniel Okrent defended the newspaper's obituary, stating that at the time of Sontag's death, a reporter could make no independent verification of her romantic relationship with Leibovitz (despite attempts to do so).

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