I agree, it was not paranoia. Hemingway was recruited by the KGB and was eager to offer his services. The only reason he didn't last long as a Russian agent is that they ended up not finding him very useful. [1]
He thought the FBI was following him because he knew they had good reasons to.
[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jul/09/hemingway-fail...
Re:Did John Steinbeck Spy for the CIA?
by vile_wretch on Saturday August 03, 2019 @01:33PM
(#20601582)
Right, yeah I agree paranoia isn't the right word. I don't know what the right word would be though. While he must have been aware of being monitored by his government, I suspect it would still have come off as paranoia to the people who knew him or knew of him, justified or not.
Re:Did John Steinbeck Spy for the CIA?
by dragonwriter on Saturday August 03, 2019 @06:28PM
(#20603125)
> Right, yeah I agree paranoia isn't the right word. I don't know what the right word would be though.
The word for thing that is like paranoia but instead of being irrational and pathological its entirely rational and grounded in fact?
"Justified concern"?
But shouldn’t we just change the word to describe Hemingway? Paranoia means unjustified suspicion/distrust and encroaches on mental health issues. It should say people thought he was paranoid about a thing that turned out to be true. So in reality Hemingway was suspicious of shitty spies.