Here’s Why I Muted Umair Haque

Warning: this is a sad story

The British economist Umair Haque continues to provoke waves of controversy here on Medium for a number of reasons. First, he is a highly pragmatic and distinguished broadcaster of apocalyptic terminal news, asserting we are all indeed fucked and that in this miserable and pathetic life of ours, the only thing left to do is to crawl into a hole and die. Second, he writes like a pro.

And I like the guy. Even though I got tired of reading his despairing rants, I like Umair. He talks to you like a friend, his voice has a trusting tone, and he knows his craft; his writing is genuine. And I learned a lot from his conversational style. But what is the value at the core of his message?

Reading Umair’s posts is like eating a delicious salty and greasy morsel of burnt plastic with fumes that get you high. And you become immediately hooked. But as you keep ingesting the stuff, a giant gag reflex takes hold of you. We need answers, but Umair does not give us answers. And we just keep coming for more.

Umair’s Nostradamus production values are beyond negativity. People get sucked into it because they become convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that they are finished without any possibility for parole. And Umair has the power of sale.