Marco.org

Marvelously well-written by Ian Crouch:

At Slate, Jordan Weissmann has taken the position, twice, that Brown should give the money to charity, perhaps to a local food bank. While the symmetry of this is appealing—potato salad for everybody—it seems based on a basic misreading of this mini-phenomenon: that, essentially, the money itself is some kind of ill-gotten gain, an accidental and undeserved windfall that is tainted by its curious origins, and so should simply be given away.

Exactly.

Zack Brown performed a work of art and comedy on Kickstarter, and we’re all paying him, voluntarily, after his performance. Period. It’s art, comedy, and the internet at its best.

Anyone trying to make him feel guilty, or pressuring him to give away the money, is being unreasonable, cruel, and despicable, trying to ruin something that has brought delight to thousands of people with their own envy and misery.