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When Snowflakes Graduate, They Work at the Times
On Tuesday, Guy Benson — a Townhall editor, Fox News contributor, and co-author of the book End of Discussion — spoke at Brown University about conservatism. End of Discussion, a book he wrote with friend Mary Katharine Ham, is about how it is becoming more prevalent in our culture for discussion on any and all topics to be forcefully shut down by those who cannot and will not abide by the opinions of others. Students at Brown University, in response to this well-respected conservative thinker and defender of the First Amendment, well, attempted to end the discussion. Benson posted this on his personal Instagram today:
I always wonder: who will these students be, where will they work, when they graduate? How can this snowflake culture in college possibly result in a halfway productive workplace?
Today, I got my answer: those incapable of hearing other opinions spend their time working in the media, attacking those who dare to have them for a living.
Wednesday, some journalists at the New York Times, frustrated with the opinions of new opinion editor Bari Weiss, leaked internal chats of her colleagues trash-talking the sole actual liberal thinker in the building. Bari’s offense? My colleague at the Forward, Cathy Young explains,
The latest Twitter mobbing by progressive outrage brigades has been sparked by a tweet that celebrated immigrants the wrong way.
On Monday, New York Times opinion writer and staff editor Bari Weiss tweeted a video of U.S. skater Mirai Nagasu landing a triple axel in the Olympic figure skating competition—the first American woman to accomplish that feat. Weiss commented, “Immigrants: They get the job done,” a reference to the lyrics from “Hamilton.”
Nagasu was actually born in California to Japanese immigrant parents. When some pointed this out, Weiss replied that she felt “the poetic license was kosher.” Her unapologetic stance infuriated critics, among them prominent journalists such as Washington Post writer Ishaan Tharoor and free-lancer David Klion. Under a barrage of accusations that her tweets implied that Americans who are non-white or have “foreign” names are invariably immigrants, Weiss deleted her tweet. When she tweeted again to deplore the backlash, the attacks continued.
The complaints of Weiss’ colleagues were all basically along these lines:
Person B: and frankly microaggressions and people being obtuse cut the deepest. and this is DAILY.
Can you imagine having so blessed a life that this is what cuts deepest? A colleague quoting Hamilton on Twitter?
As Damon Linker and Eli Lake, two actual journalists point out, if anyone at the Times is angry, their fire should be squarely aimed in the direction of the woke leakers, not Weiss.
Endorse, without restraint. If I were in a position of authority at the NYT, I'd be about 1,000x more pissed off about this than @bariweiss's tweets. https://t.co/UQv7k9Vo1Q
— Damon Linker (@DamonLinker) February 14, 2018
How the Times handles the Weiss affair is a litmus test for liberal-minded workplaces. Will they bend to the will of the microaggressed mob, or demand its employees join the land of adults? For the sake of our society, here’s hoping we’re expecting adults to behave as such in the real world.
Published in Journalism
The dynamics of making a living as a pro-cultural Marxism writer are complicated.
It seems social media has become the modern Tower of Babel in Fahrenheit 451 – difference of opinion or thought are attacked – this is where we are – and how did we get here? We have faster and more means of communication than ever, yet it’s lead to more confusion and hostility. Critical thinking and respecting other’s ideas are being replaced by group thought. I cannot believe this is happening at our universities.
https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-does-beatty-refer-old-womans-book-tower-babel-151921
When Snowflakes Graduate, They Work at the Times
Well, good. Code reviews are no place for snowflakes. It’s not that we are hard on beginners. We are hard on everybody.
Gosh, we conservatives are the ones who are going to need safe spaces! Then again, I’d rather just take them on, face-to-face. Come and get it!
It sounds like the entire country has turned into a huge elementary school playground.
In which case, where is the adult with the loud whistle? “Hey, knock it off. You guys stand over there. You guys stand over there.”
Not to defend the mob, but…
My reaction was that this highlights that the real racism out there is on the left. The ironically-named Ms. Weiss sees a non-white and automatically thinks “immigrant”. Did she tweet the same thing about Elon Musk when Falcon Heavy successfully launched? I doubt it.
Exactly. I’m so sick of this garbage.
Bethany,
This is really simpler than we think it is. The University announces a policy that if an approved speaker’s speech is intentionally disrupted by a walkout or by any other means the University will take the names of the perps verified by video. Disciplinary action will be taken for the first offense and on a repeat offense, the student will be expelled. Any non-students found participating in this kind of activity (you can bet there were) will be instantly banned from campus. If they return the police shall be called immediately.
Regards,
Jim
You’re proposing this approach, right? I mean, no one actually does it . . .
If the lefties’ goal was to help Guy make his point, they couldn’t have done it any better.
HaHaHaHaHa! Good grief.
No. I’d like to know where to sign up for one though. I don’t suppose they posted a link in the article? Or maybe Tweeted something helpful? What a bunch of loons.
Susan,
Some think about how things are, some dream about how things ought to be…oh never mind Susan. University Administrations used to have the kind of guts to do exactly this kind of thing. They need to get in touch with their masculine side and get this done. Now!
Regards,
Jim
Thanks for making me smile . . . before I frown! You are so right!
The Times is circling the bowl and will one day be sucked down the commode.
The question is where will all the snowflakes land when this happens? And will it be as amenable to their particular brand of nonsense?
So if we were them, I guess I’d be wondering which one of you will be the one to turn on me. Sounds like a great time.
For this to be a question of courage the Administrators would have to disagree with the student’s poor behavior and yet not act.
But what do you call it if the Administrators admire and encourage the student’s poor behavior? Malpractice?
Ted,
No, I call it a lawsuit. Sue the deep-pockets University. Make it a class action suit for all of the students. Pour on the bad press. Start a campaign to contact all of their donors and alumni. A University is a just a big corporation with an odd looking product and production facility. Put some pressure on them and you will get results.
Regards,
Jim
Hillsdale!
In elementary and junior high school this behavior is referred to as Bullying.
School administrations and teachers work diligently with parents in an attempt teach the students to respect one another and come down very hard on those who persist in the Bullying.
All these anti-Bullying programs have been enacted in effort to make sure these young students do not grow up to act like lunatic Bullying ahrsehats as adults.
Unfortunately the schools have obviously missed a generation or two.
Right on!