It complains about the use of tone as a substitute for substance, which is not the same thing as complaining about the tone of something while ignoring its substance. Except for using the word smarm instead, it’s essentially an essay about how much of our society has turned to tone trolling as a way to dismiss criticism and worthwhile causes.
It’s winding and I don’t agree with every point, but having read through the article, I thought it was definitely worthwhile. There are things in the world that deserve to be called out, and we are the poorer when we instead fault the people who do not show them respect.
