When I wrote that sentence, I meant that I'd be writing on my impression of Fisher as a writer. I was not expecting to be writing on her being fired from the National Catholic Register today as well.
There was a time, a few years ago, when I was a fan of Fisher's writing. I would frequently make my way to the Register just to read what she just put online. There was something about Fisher's.....huh....sarcasm which I found creative. I was, however, to change my opinion of her writing over time.
In one of those posts from 2012, Fisher wrote of her love for the book, The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald. I was familiar with the 1947 comedy film based on the book and on Fisher's recommendation, I went to the local library and checked out a copy of the book. I enjoyed MacDonald's writing so much that upon finishing one book, I immediately checked out another of her books, The Plague and I ,which chronicles her nine month stay in a tuberculosis sanitarium.
It was the reading of the two MacDonald books which put an end to my enjoyment of Simcha Fisher as a writer. It became obvious to me, that what I had enjoyed about Fisher was actually her imitation of Betty MacDonald. Fisher wasn't the original writer I had imagined her to be, but a 2nd rate writer attempting to copy the style of a superior writer.
After this revelation, I read Fisher's posts less frequently, until pretty much giving her up entirely. Her appearances on Shea's Connecting the Dots podcasts did little to change my mind; I found her rather boring the few times I attempted to listen.
Because I had given up reading Fisher's writings (due to her lack of creativity) I was unaware of the increased vulgarity many were now complaining of.
Naturally, Mark Shea stands with Simcha Fisher. He is more impressed with her writing than I, believing that she could be "making a million bucks" with her writing. Shea also claims that the excuse used to have Fisher fired was her occasional use of the word "shit" (which he calls the English equivalent of "skubala") as well as a few "bawdy dick jokes" on her Facebook page. I personally don't object to someone using the word "shit" from time to time. I've been known to say it a few times myself. I will admit though, that I've written the word more in this blog post than I have in all my previous posts combined.
Shea believes the real reason Fisher was fired was her dislike of Donald Trump. As I said, I haven't read anything Fisher has written lately, and I certainly don't follow her on Facebook or Twitter so I'm unaware of anything she may have said or written about Trump or Clinton. I can't fault her for not being a Trump supporter. Anyone familiar with this blog knows how I feel about the candidates for POTUS.
Mark Shea - and at least one person commenting on his post - are upset that anyone would treat a "mother of 10" in such a fashion. I don't know all the ins and outs of Fisher's firing; I don't know if it's justified or not. However, whether one is a "mother of 10" or a mother of none, your qualifications as a writer is not determined by the number of offspring you have.
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