Not P but DFW: politically indifferent

[Mike Jing]

Point taken, but you get the general idea. This was prompted by another
change suggested by a proofreader.

Thanks for replying, Mike.


On Tue, Feb 10, 2026 at 11:40 PM Mike Weaver <mike.weaver at zen.co.uk> wrote:

> I'd say apathetic isn't quite correct - I'd say it means it doesn't care
> about/ not concerned with politics - which maybe is the same as
> apathetic and of an individual I'd agree but to describe a publication
> as apathetic doesn't seem right. You wouldn't describe a mag dedicated
> to fashion as apathetic about a subject beyond its remit.
>
> Clearly in a hairsplitting mood today.
> Cheers
> Mike
>
> On 10/02/2026 14:24, Mike Jing wrote:
> > The following excerpt is from David Foster Wallace's *Up, Simba*:
> >
> > The far-Right *National Review*, for example, calls McCain “a crook and a
> > showboat,” while the old-Left *New York Review of Books* feels that
> “McCain
> > isn’t the anti-Clinton … McCain is more like the unClinton, in the way
> 7Up
> > was the unCola: different flavor, same sugar content,” and the
> politically
> > indifferent *Vanity Fair* quotes Washington insiders of unknown
> affiliation
> > saying “People should never underestimate [McCain’s] shrewdness. His
> > positions, in many instances, are very calculated in terms of media
> appeal.”
> >
> > Does the word "indifferent" here mean "neutral" or "apathetic"? I'm
> pretty
> > sure it's the latter since the first meaning is labelled as "archaic" by
> > the OED, and the fact that *Vanity Fair* is not known for its political
> > leanings.
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>