I've been busy so didnt bother to talk about the NYT hiring a racist for their editorial staff. The left has been contorting in all sorts of weird directions to explain why Sarah Jeong's racism is no big deal. So it was unexpected that the comments section on the NYT would contain so many rational thoughts: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/o...mentsContainer
Of course there's plenty of others defending the racist but at least half are calling her out on it.
Its unexpected and surprising.
Im glad he acknowledges whats going on. Conservatives make racist comments and they are fired on the spot. Liberals make racist comments and excuses are made as to why its no big deal and they get to keep their jobs. This is part of the reason why a large part of the population sees the media as biased.
The content, tone, and pattern of Ms. Jeong's tweets show a worldview at odds with western liberalism that the Times has always represented.
I don't twitter. All I know about Sarah Jeong is what has been written about the controversy of her being hired by the New York Times after making some foolish tweets.
I am tired of the double standards.
And I think having double standards encourages mistrust and hatred between groups.
I am tired of the double standards.
And I think having double standards encourages mistrust and hatred between groups.
Someday soon we will hopefully get our heads around how racism is not a one way street. We need to foster respect if expect to get respect. This piece of mental acrobatics trying to explain away and excuse meanness is rooted in the idea that being a racist in this country is only a problem if you are dot dot dot. How can we ask for diversity and tolerance while indulging in its opposite? We need maturity not mockery.
My point, though, is thanks to reading about this, whenever I see Ms. Jeong's name on anything, as an older white woman, I'll be thinking, "Oh, there's that writer who hates whites, who especially hates white men, who really and truly hates old white men. That woman hates my aging relatives, my neighbors, and most of the people I do business with, and I can't believe she doesn't hate me, too, just because I'm pale."
Gosh, weren't we supposed to be getting away from accepting this kind of thing? Stop handing out passes. Selective acceptance of bigotry is not okay.
Gosh, weren't we supposed to be getting away from accepting this kind of thing? Stop handing out passes. Selective acceptance of bigotry is not okay.
Systemic racism isn't the only form of racism that matters. It has greater impact than individual acts of racism, but that doesn't excuse racial hatred or bias. The argument that minorities in the US can't be racist with regard to white people is beyond absurd. As a white man born in South Korea to an American diplomat, I can tell you with certainty that Koreans can be very racist. Ms. Jeong doesn't get a pass just because she happens to be a racist in a country where she's not in the ethnic majority any more than I would get a pass using hate speech against locals while traveling abroad.
I think it's entirely justifiable to infer what someone's internalized view of the world is by looking at common themes in their tweets (if numerous enough). This is, after all, the way we've been able to look into Trump's soul (and to see only a dark void). It's entirely fair to judge Ms. Jeong's character this way.
A different argument might be: does character matter for a tech writer? My view is that character matters in all walks of life, and I remember a time when it was a primary professional criterion.
A different argument might be: does character matter for a tech writer? My view is that character matters in all walks of life, and I remember a time when it was a primary professional criterion.
Both sides must meet the same standards. As a liberal I believe I cannot condemn Trump’s careless tweets, and suggest they fuel racism, violence, hate and cruelty, and not also condemn such behavior in liberals. We either find our way back to civil discourse, or our democracy fails, Twitter or not.
Of course the tweets don't reflect the "core truth of who she is". I"m sure she's lovely - and was undoubtedly provoked - but that's not the point. This wasn't one racist tweet, it was a pattern of behavior; a choice. It's unfathomable to me that the NYT would put her on the editorial board. I'm dismayed, and that's why I canceled my subscription.
Its unexpected and surprising.
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