Hubbry Logo
Jim GoadJim GoadMain
Open search
Jim Goad
Community hub
Jim Goad
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Jim Goad
Jim Goad
Jim Goad
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

James Thaddeus Goad (born 1960 or 1961)[1] is an American author and publisher. Goad co-authored and published the zine Answer Me! and The Redneck Manifesto.

Key Information

Personal life

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Goad grew up in Philadelphia, describing himself as a loner, misanthrope and weirdo. He attended a Catholic school run by nuns. He experienced violent treatment from his parents and bullies at his school, eventually learning to fight back. Goad moved to New York City to study acting and was accepted to study at New York University under Stella Adler.[1]

1980s–90s

[edit]

Goad graduated in 1985 with a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University while living in New Jersey.[2] In the early 1980s, Goad met Debbie Rosalie, who was eight years older, in New York. They relocated to Los Angeles and were married in 1987.[1] Goad worked at the Los Angeles Reader, covering local news, but wished to cover more fringe subjects, so the couple began publishing their own magazine, Answer Me![2]

Around 1994, the couple moved to Portland, Oregon and Goad devoted his time to writing.[3] In May 1997, Goad began dating then-stripper Anne "Skye" Ryan about the time that Debbie was diagnosed with the ovarian cancer that later killed her.[2][4][5] Goad described Ryan as "Sweet Dracula girl" and as being "...fifteen years younger than me and a thousand times more fucked-up."[1] In November 1997, Debbie was granted a restraining order against Goad, after stating that he had hit, kicked, and spit on her and threatened to kill her.[2][5] They divorced in December, 1997.[5]

In May 1998, Goad and Ryan had a fight in Goad's car outside of Portland.[2] Goad left Ryan by the side of the road, and fled to Washington state.[4] When police met Ryan in a hospital emergency room, she had a blackened eye that was swollen shut, "bite marks on her hand and she was bleeding in several places."[5] Goad was charged with assault and kidnapping, facing a potential 25 years in prison. After his arrest, Goad's ex-wife Debbie filed a motion to withdraw her restraining order, stating that Goad "has seeked counseling for three months and we are now friends after our legal divorce…. If I have a relapse from my ovarian cancer, [Jim] will take care of me and help me out."[5]

Goad pleaded guilty to reduced charges and served 2+1⁄2 years, split between jail and prison. He was released in the fall of 2000.[1] When asked if he had any remorse or guilt about beating Ryan, Goad said, "Absolutely not. I enjoyed it."[1]

While Goad was in prison, author Jim Hogshire started a "Free Jim Goad" website, claiming that Goad told him he was innocent. After his release, Goad disputed the concept of the website, calling Hogshire a "nutty Muslim junkie." He stated that while he had said Ryan was lying, he never claimed innocence, but was not able to speak freely while incarcerated.[4]

2000s

[edit]

Upon his release from prison in 2000, Goad returned to Portland and was on parole for a time. He wrote for Exotic, a free guide to the sex industry of the Northwestern United States and worked as a country music DJ.[4][1] In 2008 Goad became a father.[6] He currently[when?] maintains his website, JimGoad.net, and writes for Taki's Magazine.

According to Goad, he was diagnosed with a "plum-sized" brain tumor in 2008. The situation was outlined in his book The Bomb Inside My Brain. During a nine-hour operation, the tumor was removed. He was subsequently prescribed radiation and anticonvulsive medication.

Career

[edit]

Writing style and beliefs

[edit]

As a writer, Jim Goad has been called the "poster boy for the transgressive school of writing."[4] Chuck Palahniuk describes Goad's writing style as being "brutally honest without worrying about being correct."[4]

Goad's work examines American culture, often popular and political culture. His early work reads anti-politically correct and as shock value, while his later work, like the Redneck Manifesto, and journalism contributions have marked Goad as a political and societal commentator. In his political commentary he has described conservatives and liberals in the United States as "two asscheeks surrounding the same hairy bunghole," and that politicians know how to take advantage of lower- and middle-class people because of a human's innate tribalism.[7] He has stated his support for Donald Trump.[8]

ANSWER Me!

[edit]
Main article: Answer Me! (magazine)

From 1991 to 1994, Goad self-published four yearly issues of the zine ANSWER Me!, with then-wife Debbie Goad.[6] It featured illustrations by Nick Bougas. With a circulation of 13,000 the magazine sought to upset politically correct thinkers by covering subjects about race and feminism. The publication was banned and seized by customs officials in several countries, and the final Rape Issue was rejected by some bookstore owners. The zine, called "massively influential" by Bizarre, would also be credited as an inspiration by Francisco Martin Duran, who took 29 shots at the White House,[3] influencing the suicides of three British Neo-Nazis, and a possible influence on Kurt Cobain's suicide.[1]

The Redneck Manifesto

[edit]

In 1994, Goad signed a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster for $100,000.[2] The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats was published in 1997. The book explores the idea of poor whites celebrating their heritage similar to poor African Americans, and that discrimination in the United States is focused around social class, not race. His thesis is that the rich elite blind the poor, and cause them to fight one another, instead of working together for their mutual benefit.[9]

Shit Magnet

[edit]

Shit Magnet: One Man's Miraculous Ability to Absorb the World's Guilt, is Goad's second book. Major New York publishing houses declined to publish Shit Magnet,[10] and it was published in 2002 by Feral House. The book, written while Goad was in prison, is an autobiography. It examines Goad's childhood, teenage years, his relationships with former wife Debbie Goad and ex-girlfriend Anne Ryan, and reflections about his time in prison and his experience with the judicial system. The book includes great detail about Oregon prison life, including detailed descriptions about fellow prisoners, of whom he writes "forced sterilization maybe wasn't such a bad idea."[4] Writer John Strausbaugh described Shit Magnet as "extremely painful" in detail and comparative in drama to the autobiography of Klaus Kinski.[1] Humor is Dead calls Shit Magnet a "sordid and often shocking personal allegory of guilt and violence."[7] In 2008, a play titled "Torn Between Two Bitches," was produced in Los Angeles by Michael Sargent, based on Shit Magnet.[11]

Other work

[edit]

He wrote a comic called Trucker Fags in Denial, which was originally published as a comic strip in the Portland-based publication Exotic and was published as a comic book by Fantagraphics in 2004.[7][12][13] The comic, written by Goad and illustrated by Jim Blanchard, is about two truckers named Butch and Petey. The two characters are homophobic and beat up gays between trucking. The characters contradict their behavior by having a homosexual relationship with each other. Goad came up with the idea for the comic while in prison, where he frequently observed male prisoners insulting each other as being "fags," and as "fagging off,' despite engaging in homosexual acts themselves while incarcerated.[12][13] Willamette Week's gay columnist Byron Beck described Trucker Fags in Denial as "twisted, vile, unrepentant ... and absolutely hilarious."[12]

In 2007, Jim Goad's Gigantic Book of Sex was published.[6] The book consists of over 100 articles, op-eds and facts about sex, all written by Goad.[14]

Goad writes a weekly column for Taki's Magazine and Greg Johnson.[citation needed] Goad has also contributed to Vice[citation needed] and Hustler.[7]

Acting and music

[edit]

Jim Goad has released music and performed as Big Red Goad, performing covers of classic and trucker-themed country songs. In 2007 he toured as the opening act for Hank III.[15][13]

In 2002, Goad acted in The Suzy Evans Story, a film about a police detective who protects a battered woman named Suzy and proceeds to abuse her himself. Goad joked that it was typecasting.[1] The film was never released.[16]

Political views

[edit]

Goad is referred to as the "godfather of the new right"[17] and is associated with the alt-right movement, with Proud Boys figure Gavin McInnes citing him as one of his favorite writers.[18] Goad does not consider himself part of the alt-right movement,[17] although he has made appearances with various figures commonly associated with the alt-right movmement: Goad has previously been a guest on "Rebel Yell", a podcast associated with the neo-confederate propaganda group "Identity Dixie", an organisation that helped organised the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[19]: 23  He has also appeared on a podcast hosted by Richard B. Spencer,[20] together with anti-semitic writer E. Michael Jones.[21]

Works

[edit]
  • Goad, Jim. The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats. New York: Simon & Schuster (1998). ISBN 0-684-83864-8
  • Goad, Jim. Shit Magnet: One Man's Miraculous Ability to Absorb the World's Guilt. Port Townsend: Feral House (2002). ISBN 0-922915-77-6
  • Goad, Jim & Blanchard, Jim. Trucker Fags in Denial. Seattle: Fantagraphics (2004).
  • Goad, Jim. ANSWER Me!: The First Three. Baltimore: Scapegoat Publishing (2006). ISBN 0-9764035-3-6
  • Goad, Jim. Jim Goad's Gigantic Book of Sex. Port Townsend: Feral House (2007). ISBN 1-932595-20-1
  • Goad, Jim & Kopp, Hollister. Gun Fag Manifesto: Entertainment for the Armed Sociopath. Nine Banded Books/Underworld Amusements (2013). ISBN 978-0-9896972-0-0
  • Goad, Jim. The Headache Factory: True Tales of Online Obsession and Madness. New York: Thought Catalog Books (2014).
  • Goad, Jim. Whiteness: The Original Sin. (2018)
  • Goad, Jim. The New Church Ladies: The Extremely Uptight World of "Social Justice" (2017). ISBN 978-0692847213
  • Goad, Jim. The Bomb Inside My Brain. (2019). ISBN 978-1089137788
  • Goad, Jim. Gender Psychosis. (2020). ISBN 979-8668207374

Discography

[edit]
  • Truck Drivin' Psycho 1996 (World Serpent)
  • "Let's Fight!" with Jim Goad 2001 (Exotic)
  • Hatesville, The Boyd Rice Experience, 2009 (Caciocavallo)

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Jim Goad

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
James Thaddeus "Jim" Goad (born June 12, 1961) is an American author, publisher, and commentator recognized for his polemical examinations of class dynamics, cultural taboos, and perceived biases against the white working class. Goad co-edited and self-published the underground zine Answer Me! from 1991 to 1994 alongside his then-wife Debbie Goad, which featured raw essays, interviews, and rants on subjects including suicide, homicide, and sexual violence, leading to its prohibition in Australia and reprints in collected editions due to its confrontational style. His 1997 book The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats, published by Simon & Schuster, argues that poor whites have endured historical exploitation akin to other underclasses but face unique derogatory labeling and cultural erasure, framing societal conflicts as rooted in class antagonism rather than solely racial ones, while decrying the hypocrisy of elite-driven identity politics. Goad's oeuvre, spanning memoirs like Shit Magnet (2020) and essay collections such as Whiteness: The Original Sin (2023), employs sardonic humor and historical analysis to challenge narratives of white privilege, positing that guilt and serve institutional power structures more than justice. A journalism graduate honored as an outstanding student, he has sustained a career through independent publishing, contributions to —including weekly columns until 2020—and a personal website featuring podcasts and archives that dissect media distortions and interpersonal conflicts. His work, often polarizing, anticipates broader discussions on working-class alienation by prioritizing empirical observations of socioeconomic patterns over ideological conformity.

Early Life

Childhood and Formative Influences

James Thaddeus Goad was born on June 12, 1961, in , a suburb near . Goad's upbringing occurred in the urban environment, which he later characterized as marked by isolation and alienation. He depicted his early years as bleak and freakish, positioning himself as an intelligent yet socially ostracized child—frequently the "big-headed weirdo kid," a persistent loner exhibiting misanthropic traits from youth. Emerging from a working-class family milieu, Goad's formative experiences instilled a profound sense of class-based , shaped by direct encounters with socioeconomic and cultural disdain from perceived elites. These personal dynamics, rather than formal or later cultural immersions, laid the groundwork for his enduring antagonism toward institutional hierarchies and urban intellectualism.

Education and Initial Career Attempts

Goad completed twelve years of in Roman Catholic parochial schools through the twelfth grade, an experience marked by strict discipline from that included physical punishment and contributed to his early development of combative instincts against authority. He grew up in the suburb of Clifton Heights, where familial dynamics—such as a strained parental and his position as the youngest by thirteen years—further shaped his , blending intellectual precocity with patterns of self-sabotage. At , Goad studied , graduating in 1985 with a B.A. and a 3.76 GPA; faculty selected him as an outstanding graduating student in magazine . Early ambitions extended to acting, as he considered training under at , but parental resistance labeling it unsuitable thwarted this path. Post-graduation, Goad's initial efforts yielded a 1989 assignment profiling Vietnamese gangs in , but broader mainstream opportunities remained elusive. He supplemented income through low-wage service and manual labor roles, including busboy, french-fry chef, cab driver for several years, and shoe store clerk—positions emblematic of working-class precarity that later fueled his critiques of socioeconomic barriers for non-elite whites. These unfulfilling ventures highlighted the disconnect between formal credentials and practical advancement, steering him toward freelance writing for niche outlets in the late 1980s as a precursor to self-published work.

Underground Publishing and Zine Era

Founding ANSWER Me!

Jim and Debbie Goad co-founded the zine ANSWER Me! in 1991 in Los Angeles under their imprint Goad to Hell Enterprises, establishing it as a self-published outlet to bypass the editorial restrictions encountered in conventional journalism. The project embodied a DIY ethos rooted in punk rock's raw energy and independence, with the couple handling editing, production, and initial distribution themselves. This operational model allowed unfiltered expression, diverging from polished mainstream formats toward photocopied, handmade aesthetics typical of underground publishing. Four issues appeared between 1991 and 1994, with the inaugural edition released in 1991 and the final, controversial fourth issue in 1994. Primarily sold via to subscribers and supporters, the achieved sales without relying on widespread bookstore stocking, though some retailers like placed bulk orders for copies. This direct-to-consumer approach underscored its origins, fostering a dedicated amid the era's culture. Distribution faced significant hurdles, including refusals from booksellers and at least one instance where a store burned copies of issue #4. These challenges peaked in a 1996 obscenity trial in , where newsstand operators were prosecuted for "felony promotion of pornography" over stocking the ; they were acquitted and awarded damages, highlighting the legal risks of its taboo-challenging stance. Such obstacles amplified its underground allure but strained finances through self-funding and inconsistent retail access, relying on mail-order revenue for sustainability.

Content and Cultural Impact of the Zine

ANSWER Me! delved into taboo subjects such as murder, suicide, , and through a mix of editorials, interviews, prank journalism, and provocative lists, often critiquing societal norms and . Issue #1 featured interviews with figures like and alongside misanthropic rants and New Journalism-style reports. Subsequent issues focused thematically: #2 on murder, including interviews with and plus gang violence articles; #3 on , with prank calls to , method lists, and serial killer-themed art; and #4 on , incorporating personal abuse narratives, statistics, and interviews with . This content, encompassing elements of , self-destruction advocacy, and ire, positioned the zine as a direct rebuke to cultural sensitivities and emerging . The zine's transgressive approach garnered a cult audience among disaffected youth and underground readers seeking unfiltered examinations of human darkness, with issue #2 reportedly printed in a run of 8,500 copies. It earned praise for raw candor from author , who characterized Jim Goad's writing as "brutally honest without worrying about being correct." However, reception was polarized; while some admired its boundary-pushing style in and discourse, it faced widespread condemnation from zine communities for perceived endorsements of and . Culturally, ANSWER Me! amplified transgressive journalism's role in 1990s zine scenes by challenging mainstream puritanism and influencing alternative media's embrace of provocative, anti-PC narratives, though its legacy includes infamy from alleged links to incidents like the 1994 and a triple in Britain, prompting international bans and a U.S. trial for issue #4. This notoriety underscored its impact in exposing fractures in polite discourse, fostering a niche following that valued empirical confrontation of social ills over sanitized commentary.

Major Literary Works

The Redneck Manifesto

The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats was published in May 1997 by , marking Goad's entry into mainstream trade publishing with a 274-page edition. The book systematically defends the white —categorized by Goad as rednecks, hillbillies, and white trash—as historical victims of elite-driven class exploitation, rather than perpetrators of systemic privilege. Goad traces the origins of this demographic to 17th- and 18th-century British policies of transporting convicts, vagrants, and indentured servants to colonial America, where they formed a disposable in the amid agricultural labor demands that paralleled but predated African chattel . He argues that these groups have endured continuous in class warfare, from post-Civil War to 20th-century industrial decline, positioning them as buffers absorbing redirected from racial minorities. This framework challenges prevailing cultural narratives by asserting that poor whites face exclusion from multiculturalism's protections, rendering anti-redneck the sole permissible domestic bigotry, unsupported by equivalent socioeconomic advantages attributed to whiteness at large. While eschewing calls for violent reprisal, Goad advocates heightened class awareness to dismantle what he describes as a millennia-old dynamic of manipulation, evidenced by patterns of economic displacement and cultural vilification. The book's release prompted initial media coverage in outlets like , which noted its emphasis on historical class antagonism over racial , though it later drew criticism for amplifying white grievance in an era dominated by discourses. Its arguments have since informed populist analyses of working-class alienation, appearing in scholarly examinations of Southern and .

Shit Magnet and Subsequent Books

Shit Magnet, published in 2002 by the independent publisher , functions as Goad's post-incarceration memoir, chronicling a series of self-destructive episodes including , volatile romantic entanglements, and confrontations with authority figures across decades. The narrative spans from his early adulthood through the events precipitating his 1998 arrest and imprisonment, portraying these incidents as manifestations of personal recklessness amplified by interpersonal and institutional failures. Goad frames the account around the psychological burden of guilt, positing it as a peculiarly construct that he both embodies and interrogates, often through sardonic self-dissection rather than evasion. The book's 328-page structure eschews linear chronology for thematic vignettes, emphasizing autobiographical candor over redemption arcs, with Goad attributing his life's turbulence to innate character traits rather than external victimhood narratives. Released shortly after his release from —where he served approximately 18 months for domestic charges—this work reflects his pivot toward personal historiography, sustaining the irreverent prose honed in prior output but channeled into introspective reckoning. Feral House's niche distribution limited its reach beyond underground literary circles, underscoring Goad's trajectory of operating outside mainstream validation post-legal entanglements. In subsequent publications, Goad maintained this autobiographical vein through self-published essays that interweave personal anecdotes with cultural observation. In 2014, he published the essay "The Difference Between Prejudice And Postjudice" on Thought.is, distinguishing between prejudice as uninformed pre-judgment and postjudice as informed judgment based on observed patterns, exemplifying his polemical writing on cultural and perceptual biases. This is further seen in Whiteness: The Original Sin (2018), issued via Independent Publishing Platform in a 350-page edition. Composed of 50 discrete pieces, the volume draws on Goad's experiences of socioeconomic and social ostracism to probe identity constructs, presented in bite-sized, polemical bursts that echo the confessional intensity of Shit Magnet without recapitulating earlier class-based polemics. This independent release, printed on demand with minimal promotional infrastructure, exemplifies Goad's reliance on digital platforms after rebuffs from conventional outlets, ensuring unmediated dissemination of his reflections on self-perception amid evolving societal taboos.

1998 Domestic Assault Case

On May 29, 1998, Jim Goad engaged in a physical altercation with his girlfriend, Sky Ryan, while driving on Northwest Skyline Boulevard in . According to police reports, Goad locked Ryan in the vehicle during an argument, assaulted her, and released her in a bloodied state, after which she sought treatment at St. Vincent's Hospital for injuries including a swollen-shut left eye requiring stitches, bite marks on her hand, and multiple bleeding wounds. Goad was arrested on May 31, 1998, and charged with one count of in the second degree and six counts of in varying degrees. Goad maintained that Ryan provoked the incident by punching him first and drawing blood, citing a history of mutual aggression in their relationship; he had obtained a restraining order against her three weeks prior due to her threats, including voicemail messages vowing to "stab you a million times." Supporting evidence included witness statements from Goad's friend Sean Tejeratchi attesting to Ryan's pattern of initiating fights, as well as recorded threats from Ryan documented by Goad. Police reports confirmed Ryan's injuries but also noted the bidirectional nature of prior conflicts between the pair. In January 1999, facing a potential sentence of up to 15 years if convicted at , Goad accepted a deal, guilty to one count each of attempted in the second degree, attempted in the second degree, and in the fourth degree. Multnomah County Clifford Olsen sentenced him to three years in , with the reducing charges from completed to attempted offenses. Goad admitted in court to prior instances of striking his ex-wife Debbie Goad but contested characterizations of systematic abuse. Contemporary media coverage, including in local outlets like , framed the case as emblematic of Goad's provocative writings on violence in ANSWER Me!, portraying it as a straightforward instance of despite documented of mutual provocation and Ryan's admissions of destructive , such as smashing Goad's car window. Such reporting aligned with broader institutional tendencies to emphasize perpetrator narratives in cases while downplaying reciprocal dynamics, though court records highlighted the altercation's contested context amid a volatile relationship.

Imprisonment and Aftermath

Goad served approximately 2.5 years of a three-year sentence in state following his January 1999 guilty plea to charges stemming from the 1998 domestic assault incident. During incarceration, he reported dedicating significant time to reading works on , , and social critique, which he later described as fostering deeper insights into class-based disparities in the system, including harsher treatment of working-class defendants compared to elite offenders. In his autobiographical accounts, Goad portrayed as a exposing institutional failures, such as overcrowded conditions, arbitrary disciplinary measures, and a lack of rehabilitation focus that disproportionately affected lower socioeconomic groups, prompting reflections on broader societal of proletarian grievances. He maintained that these experiences sharpened his toward narratives prioritizing victimhood over accountability, though critics dismissed such views as self-serving rationalizations. Upon release in early 2001, Goad returned to , under parole supervision amid personal financial devastation, including loss of assets from prior publishing ventures and legal fees, forcing reliance on sporadic freelance writing gigs for survival. This period marked a shift toward more introspective output, with Goad claiming in subsequent memoirs that incarceration induced behavioral reforms, evidenced by the absence of further violent convictions after 2001, countering portrayals of him as irredeemably aggressive. Parole conditions restricted his movements and associations, complicating reintegration while underscoring what he viewed as the system's punitive overreach on non-elite transgressors.

Political and Ideological Positions

Defense of Working-Class White Identity

Goad's central thesis posits that working-class whites, derogatorily labeled as "rednecks," "hillbillies," and "white trash," endure systemic scapegoating rooted in class antagonism rather than racial animus, positioning them as the primary victims of America's unspoken class war. In The Redneck Manifesto (), he marshals historical examples of this dynamic, tracing it from post-Civil War resentments—where poor Southern whites were vilified as Confederate sympathizers and economic losers—to 20th-century cultural portrayals that recast them as ignorant dupes in media and academia. Goad argues that elite narratives exploit these groups to deflect from broader economic exploitation, emphasizing that resentments arise from material deprivation and power imbalances, not inherent racial hierarchies. Empirically, Goad underscores the oversight of white poverty in predominantly white regions like , where comprised over 90% of the population in many counties yet faced poverty rates exceeding 12% as of recent analyses—higher than national white averages of around 8-10%—amid a national discourse prioritizing minority aid programs that often eclipse class-based interventions for rural whites. He critiques how federal initiatives, such as those under the , fixated on urban minority enclaves while Appalachian white communities, plagued by coal industry collapse and outmigration, received fragmented attention despite comparable or worse metrics in and labor force participation. This disparity, Goad contends, stems from causal realities of geographic isolation and , where —evident in wage stagnation and union busting—drives social decay more directly than racial identity. Through reclamation of terms, Goad aims to foster group among working-class whites, inverting dismissals by celebrating traits like resilience and as adaptive responses to exploitation, thereby challenging the monopoly on victimhood narratives. His framework prioritizes economic causality over , asserting that cross-racial class alliances against s offer a more realistic path to redress than race-centric grievances, a position he substantiates with parallels to historical labor movements where poor whites and blacks occasionally united before being divided by external manipulations. This approach has resonated in subsequent cultural reckonings with struggles, predating and informing broader recognitions of their overlooked plight.

Critiques of Elite Narratives and Victimhood Culture

Goad critiques progressive ideologies for fostering a grievance-based worldview that privileges perpetual victim status over personal accountability, arguing that elite narratives manipulate empathy to enforce ideological conformity. In The New Church Ladies: The Extremely Uptight World of "Social Justice" (2017), he portrays social justice activism as a quasi-religious orthodoxy akin to Victorian-era moralism, where adherents police language and behavior with puritanical zeal, suppressing empirical scrutiny in favor of dogmatic equity. This, he contends, inverts causal reasoning by attributing all disparities to systemic oppression while dismissing biological and behavioral factors, such as sex differences in aggression or variance in group outcomes attributable to culture rather than conspiracy. He dismisses and related frameworks as hierarchies of fabricated oppressions that function as inverted , systematically disadvantaging whites by reallocating victim status away from them despite data showing whites comprise a majority of America's poor and rural . Goad highlights biases, such as programs that prioritize non-white claims of harm while ignoring white overrepresentation in metrics like rates (peaking at 14.5 per 100,000 for white males in 1997 data he references) or Appalachian poverty clusters exceeding 30% in some counties, which elite discourse attributes to inherent pathology rather than economic displacement. These narratives, he argues, commit the by extrapolating individual elite actions to collective guilt, eroding meritocratic principles in favor of zero-sum equity that disincentivizes achievement. Goad's satirical assaults on expose its promotion of female victimhood as a displacement mechanism that erodes cultural cohesion by denying women's agency and innate capacities for malice or dominance. He lampoons feminist of speech with , as in reactions to or catcalls, where verbal provocation is equated to , inverting reality to portray women as inherently fragile despite evidence of comparable female-initiated in domestic contexts (e.g., studies showing women perpetrate 40-50% of minor partner ). This reasoning prioritizes biological realism—acknowledging evolutionary sex roles where male risk-taking and female selectivity underpin societal stability—over equity myths that demand identical outcomes, which he sees as unsustainable and corrosive to merit-based hierarchies. Multiculturalism, in Goad's view, exemplifies elite by framing white cultural norms as oppressive relics while exempting imported traditions from similar scrutiny, fostering displacement through unchecked policies that strain working-class resources without regard for assimilation's causal demands. He argues this consensus ignores first-principles like group compatibility, evidenced by persistent ethnic enclaves and welfare disparities (e.g., non-white immigrant overreliance on public assistance in data), substituting logical fallacies for realism to maintain power divides among the non-elite.

Associations with Alt-Right and Paleoconservative Circles

Goad contributed regularly to , a publication associated with paleoconservative thought emphasizing opposition to foreign interventions, skepticism toward , and defense of traditional Western cultural norms, from at least the early until September 2020. His columns there, such as "Leveling the Playing Field (With Explosives)" published on August 11, 2014, examined political inequalities through a lens compatible with paleoconservative critiques of . Regarding the alt-right, Goad's pre-2016 writings, including themes of racial realism and anti-establishment irreverence in The Redneck Manifesto (1997), exhibited overlaps with concepts later popularized under the "red pill" moniker within alt-right discourse, though these predated the movement's coalescence around the 2015-2016 U.S. presidential election. He has conducted multiple interviews with Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys group often linked to alt-right fringes, including a May 2015 appearance on McInnes's platform and discussions in 2017 on topics like historical figures and cultural critique. Goad's work has been referenced positively by alt-right-affiliated outlets, such as citations in The Right Stuff podcast episodes. Goad has rejected identification with the alt-right, stating in a 2017 that he does not consider himself part of the coalition, which includes white nationalist and anti-Semitic elements, positioning himself instead as an independent contrarian opposed to across ideological lines. His associations remain those of a peripheral influencer through shared platforms and dialogues rather than organizational involvement.

Broader Creative Output

Acting and Film Involvement

Goad's involvement in has been limited to a handful of independent and documentaries, often featuring him in roles or as himself that reflect his worldview. In 2002, he appeared in The Suzy Evans Story, an indie production centered on a police detective safeguarding a battered from her abuser. His role in this film marked one of his earliest on-screen credits, though details on the character he portrayed remain sparse in available records. By the mid-2010s, Goad transitioned to appearances in politically charged documentaries. He featured as himself in The Sarkeesian Effect: Inside the World of Social Justice Warriors (2015), a film critiquing feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and broader cultural narratives around online harassment and "gamergate." The documentary positions Goad among interviewees challenging progressive orthodoxy on gender and victimhood, aligning with his written critiques of elite-driven identity politics. In 2016, Goad starred in The Second Coming: Volume 2, an experimental directed by Michael Parle that explores themes of and cultural decay through segments filmed in multiple countries. He headlined one section alongside actors like , contributing to the project's subversive, low-budget aesthetic that echoes underground cinema traditions. These works represent the extent of his documented , with no evidence of mainstream Hollywood roles or extensive training in acting.

Music, Podcasts, and Multimedia

Goad's musical output reflects DIY ethos rooted in underground scenes, with sporadic releases emphasizing irreverent spoken-word elements and genre covers rather than sustained production. In 1995, he contributed vocals to Hatesville!, a collaborative album by The Boyd Rice Experience featuring Adam Parfrey, Shaun Partridge, and others, styled as a parody of Rod McKuen's spoken-word Beatsville with abrasive, satirical tracks like "Mr. Intolerance." Later, performing as Big Red Goad, he issued Truck Drivin' Psycho, an audio CD of covers drawn from classic country and trucker-themed songs, aligning with his thematic interests in working-class Americana. These efforts, limited in scope and commercially niche, echo punk-era self-production without formal band affiliations or widespread distribution. From 2017 to May 2020, Goad hosted Jim Goad's Group Hug, a series comprising 150 episodes available via jimgoad.net, characterized by lo-fi, independent formatting typical of post-2010s online audio ventures. Episodes follow a consistent structure: thematic audio montages (e.g., clips or holiday parodies), co-hosted readings and commentary on his "The Week That Perished" dispatches covering recent news absurdities, and occasional guest interviews with figures like or Emily Youcis. The show extended the raw, confrontational irreverence of his earlier work into spoken rants and banter, often spanning 1-2 hours per installment without professional editing or sponsorships. Multimedia beyond podcasts remains minimal, with isolated audio appearances such as a Animus Air radio segment and tracks, but no sustained video or visual projects documented. These formats prioritize unpolished delivery over polished media, mirroring Goad's aversion to mainstream production norms.

Later Career and Ongoing Influence

Columns for and Independent Writing

From 2008 to 2020, Jim Goad contributed regularly to with his weekly column "The Week That Perished," which offered satirical dissections of contemporary news stories highlighting what he portrayed as absurdities in cultural, political, and social trends. The series typically summarized five to seven headlines per installment, employing hyperbolic language and irony to critique phenomena such as excesses, media hypocrisies, and declining social norms, evolving from Goad's earlier zine-style provocation into a more structured, periodical format suited to online readership. Goad's tenure at Taki's ended in September 2020, when he announced his departure, citing years of editorial interventions that he described as "aggressively neutering" his submissions to align with the publication's constraints. This shift marked a transition to fully independent output, allowing unfiltered expression of his transgressive perspective without intermediary oversight. Post-departure, Goad maintained consistent production through his personal site jimgoad.net, where essays and commentary continued to target cultural decay, including critiques of progressive orthodoxies and institutional biases, adapting to digital platforms' immediacy while preserving a raw, confrontational edge distinct from his book-length explorations. The blog's format emphasized shorter, pointed pieces that echoed the punchy rhythm of his Taki's work but with greater in thematic selection and rhetorical intensity.

Recent Interviews and Public Engagements Post-2020

In the years following the May 2020 finale of his Group Hug , Jim Goad maintained a low-profile presence through sporadic guest appearances on niche s, focusing on themes consistent with his prior work such as cultural critique, personal history, and racial dynamics. These engagements reflect a shift toward intermittent online discussions rather than regular media output or live events. On May 17, 2022, Goad appeared on Counter-Currents Radio Podcast No. 443, hosted by Greg Johnson, where he addressed topics including political correctness and whiteness in a session lasting over an hour. Later that year, on August 10, 2022, he was interviewed on the Conservative Atheist podcast (Season 1, Episode 18), recounting aspects of his upbringing, zine publishing, and career trajectory across decades. In October 2023, Goad joined Henrik Palmgren on podcast to revisit his 2019 Whiteness: The Original Sin, emphasizing its arguments against prevailing narratives on race and guilt. His most recent documented interview occurred on May 28, 2024, with Radical Dose, where he reflected on his youthful identification as a "wigger," critiqued cultural emulation across racial lines, and articulated views aligning with racial realism, including observations on behavioral patterns and societal incentives. These appearances underscore Goad's continued, albeit subdued, engagement with audiences amid reports of personal health challenges contributing to reduced output, though no major public speeches or new multimedia projects emerged post-2020. He offered no extensive commentary in these forums on specific contemporaneous events like mass shootings or scandals, prioritizing retrospective and over .

Reception and Controversies

Achievements and Positive Assessments

Goad's The Redneck Manifesto, published in 1997 by , represented a breakthrough in mainstream publishing for its unapologetic examination of white working-class disenfranchisement, drawing on historical evidence of forced migrations and cultural marginalization to argue against selective victimhood narratives. The book garnered positive assessments for its lucid historical analysis of racial and class dynamics, as well as its intensely personal and powerful sociopolitical critique. Prior to the book, Goad co-edited the zine ANSWER Me! with Debbie Goad from 1991 to 1994, which cultivated a dedicated underground following through its provocative essays on subjects, achieving notoriety that propelled Goad into broader influence. This transgressive format inspired early figures in outlets like , with co-founder citing Goad's later writings on race and class as formative in reshaping his perspectives. Literary figures have endorsed Goad's style for its brutal candor; highlighted the emotional impact of Goad's personal narratives, such as those recounting his brother's murder, aligning with Palahniuk's affinity for extreme, unflinching prose. Reviewers have likened the manifesto's compassionate yet rage-filled tone to works by and Carolyn Chute, praising its authentic portrayal of rural white struggles without sentimentalism. In the context of intensifying , Goad's output earned recognition as an early catalyst for right-leaning populist discourse, positioning him as a foundational voice—or "godfather"—in challenging elite-driven cultural orthodoxies through class-realist arguments. His emphasis on empirical historical patterns over ideological conformity fostered subsequent discussions on overlooked dynamics.

Criticisms and Accusations of Extremism

Jim Goad has been accused by critics in of promoting views through his writings on race, IQ differences, and white resentment, often labeling him an icon of the alt-right despite his denials. A 2017 profile described Goad as a "leading figure in far-right fringe media" and portrayed his re-emergence as tied to alt-right circles, citing his columns for where he referenced studies claiming "whites are supreme in IQ tests by far" and made derogatory comments about Mexicans, such as arguing against by invoking of cultural incompatibility. Critics like Joshua Frank of argued that Goad's emphasis on racial disparities provides "cover" for white supremacist claims while allowing adherents to deny personal . Goad's 1997 book The Redneck Manifesto has drawn particular scrutiny for defending working-class whites against perceived elite disdain, with detractors interpreting its critique of "" across racial groups as veiled advocacy for white that amplifies resentment rather than empirical analysis of class dynamics. Earlier work in his zine Answer Me!, including essays with provocative statements like "Women are only good for fucking and beating," fueled broader accusations of intertwined with racial , though Goad framed such content as satirical targeting all groups. Associations with far-right figures and outlets have intensified claims of extremism; Goad has contributed biweekly columns to Counter-Currents Publishing, a site dedicated to white nationalist ideology, and received praise from founder , who called The Redneck Manifesto "Proud Boy Holy scripture." He has also appeared on podcasts linked to neo-Nazi sites like and written for , platforms critics associate with anti-immigration extremism. In response, Goad has consistently rejected alt-right or white supremacist labels, describing himself as a "lone wolf" independent thinker who prioritizes observable racial patterns over egalitarian ideals, stating in interviews, "I don’t believe people are equal, but it all depends on what you do with that belief," and dismissing accusations as "guilt by association." He argues his work critiques systemic biases in media and academia that downplay interracial and cultural differences, rather than endorsing supremacy.

Bibliography

[Bibliography - no content]

References

  1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1348677/
  2. https://www.scapegoatpublishing.com/answer-me-the-first-three-by-jim-goad/
  3. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jim-goad/the-redneck-manifesto/
  4. https://www.amazon.com/Redneck-Manifesto-Jim-Goad/dp/0684831139
  5. https://www.takimag.com/contributor/JimGoad/205/
  6. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-goad-5320b25
  7. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_Goad
  8. https://www.nypress.com/news/jim-goad-is-a-bad-man-ECNP1020020702307029999
  9. https://eugenesrobinson.substack.com/p/getting-your-goad-5-easy-pieces-wjim
  10. https://www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/jim_goad.htm
  11. https://thought.is/my-brief-stint-as-a-union-member/
  12. https://thought.is/the-difference-between-prejudice-and-postjudice/
  13. https://www.amazon.com/Redneck-Manifesto-Hillbillies-Americas-Scapegoats/dp/0684838648
  14. https://jimgoad.net/robertx.html
  15. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-17-vw-46948-story.html
  16. http://www.jimgoad.net/pdf/promotional.pdf
  17. http://www.aclu-wa.org/news/answer-me-classic-case-censorship-washington-state/
  18. https://culturedvultures.com/answer-me-all-four-issues-review/
  19. https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/answer/author/goad-jim/
  20. https://www.quimbys.com/blog/store-events/jim-goad/
  21. https://brokenpencil.com/features/from-vice-to-violence-how-the-nineties-invented-the-alt-right/
  22. https://medium.com/news-to-table/from-zine-racks-to-hell-sites-and-back-again-9880785f5a31
  23. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Redneck-Manifesto/Jim-Goad/9780684838649
  24. http://www.publishersweekly.com/9780684831138
  25. https://dokumen.pub/the-redneck-manifesto-1nbsped-0684831139-9780684831138.html
  26. https://readingfreely.com/2014/03/17/the-redneck-manifesto/
  27. https://oxfordre.com/literature/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-305
  28. https://feralhouse.com/shit-magnet/
  29. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/426102.Shit_Magnet
  30. https://archive.org/details/shitmagnetoneman0000goad
  31. https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/shit-magnet-one-mans-miraculous-ability-to-absorb-the-worlds-guilt_jim-goad/495325/
  32. https://www.amazon.com/Whiteness-Original-Sin-Jim-Goad/dp/1729700411
  33. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42893308-whiteness
  34. https://underworldamusements.com/products/whiteness-the-original-sin-jim-goad
  35. https://www.wweek.com/archive/2017/10/17/goad-rage-from-our-june-17-1998-edition/
  36. https://www.wweek.com/culture/2017/10/17/word-and-deed-from-our-january-20-1999-edition/
  37. https://jimgoad.net/pdf/prison/hellinc.pdf
  38. https://www.bookey.app/book/the-redneck-manifesto
  39. https://www.arc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/changingpatternsofpovertyandspatialinequalityinappalachia.pdf
  40. https://activisthistory.com/2017/09/01/white-appalachian-poverty-in-the-national-mind/
  41. https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2021/01/06/human-rights-in-appalachia-socioeconomic-and-health-disparities-in-appalachia/
  42. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-redneck-manifesto-%253A-how-hillbillies%252C-hicks%252C-and-Goad/15b5eba7eb39333696f6b9c48c3921b41ced00bb
  43. https://counter-currents.com/2011/12/the-last-hipster-jim-goads-the-redneck-manifesto/
  44. https://www.amazon.com/New-Church-Ladies-Extremely-Uptight/dp/0692847219
  45. https://counter-currents.com/2017/10/jim-goads-the-new-church-ladies/
  46. https://jimgoad.net/pdf/society/obscenity.pdf
  47. http://www.jimgoad.net/pdf/interview.pdf
  48. https://x.com/jimgoad/status/1310546433720938496
  49. https://www.uvm.edu/~rgriffin/Goad-Leveling.pdf
  50. https://soundcloud.com/free-speech/jim-goad
  51. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vLxG29RRgg
  52. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/mcinnes-molyneux-and-4chan-investigating-pathways-alt-right/
  53. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2017/1228/Reporters-grapple-with-the-right-way-to-cover-the-far-right
  54. https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1510302-jim-goad
  55. https://www.facebook.com/TheSecondComingvol1and2/
  56. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-boyd-rice-experience/hatesville/
  57. https://genius.com/albums/Boyd-rice/Hatesville
  58. https://www.amazon.com/CDs-Vinyl-Jim-Goad/s?rh=n%253A5174%252Cp_32%253AJim%252BGoad
  59. https://www.discogs.com/artist/434527-Jim-Goad
  60. https://jimgoad.net/podcast/
  61. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/jim-goads-group-hug-573291
  62. https://archive.org/details/jimgoadsgrouphug
  63. https://jimgoad.net/podcast/?episode=12
  64. https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/jim-goads-group-hug/episode-53-gaslighting-bW_fPvnVGRD/
  65. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRwHHpngPME
  66. https://soundcloud.com/free-speech/jim-goad?in=pityu-markus/sets/gavin
  67. https://www.takimag.com/article/the-week-that-perished-13/
  68. https://www.takimag.com/article/the-week-that-perished-35/
  69. https://jimgoad.net/
  70. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/counter-currents-4647119/episodes/counter-currents-radio-podcast-138986266
  71. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s-1-ep-18-jim-goad-interviewing-the-always/id1634678259?i=1000575606325
  72. https://www.podchaser.com/lists/chaser-107aDoFzug
  73. https://radicaldose.com/interview-with-jim-goad-former-wigger/
  74. https://www.reddit.com/r/CensoredTV/comments/1kaeyi9/what_happened_to_jim_goad/
  75. https://www.wweek.com/archive/2017/10/17/the-untouchables-from-our-june-4-1997-edition/
  76. https://www.alternet.org/2000/04/interview_with_answer_mes_jim_goad
  77. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/chuck-palahniuk-unveils-politically-tinged-novel-adjustment-day-1107179/
  78. https://www.eclectica.org/v2n3/dickinson.html
  79. https://www.wweek.com/arts/books/2017/10/17/two-decades-after-author-jim-goad-fell-from-grace-in-portland-hes-re-emerged-as-an-icon-of-the-alt-right/
  80. https://counter-currents.com/author/jgoad/
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.