Should I be ranting about politics at 1:30 AM? Probably not. I’m going to ask y’all to keep it civil in the comments, as I could see this being a contentious issue. If the mods want this nuked, let me know. Bus for your time.
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I’m a pretty liberal person. Though I’ve gotten more moderate lately, nine times out of ten, I’d probably agree with the democrats- purely for the social issues. But this whole Sarah Jeong thing has really gotten under my skin, and it’s showing why I can’t really agree with the left. Do I care what Jeong tweeted? Not really; while I don’t agree with it, she can tweet whatever she wants. Do I disagree with the Times choice to keep her? Not really either. I doubt her racism/bad comedy affects her ability to be a good tech writer. But many liberal people’s reactions have been insane. Arguing that you can says those things publicly and should be unpunished because white people haven’t been oppressed is a terrible argument. Furthermore, it’s hard to argue this is an alt-right journalist attack when white people (James Gunn, namely, and another Times reporter) have been fired about making similarly racist “jokes.” It seems to me that if we’re really serious about accountability for these things, it needs to apply equally. You don’t get a joke pass because your part of a race that’s oppressed. Sarah Jeong is a Harvard-educated writer who works for a prestigious newspaper. While her race and gender may present obstacles a white man would not face, it’s hard to say she’s a victim of oppression and attack from the alt-right.
This also irritates me because it hands Fox News/Trump the perfect weapon. The Trump base has felt the media is after them since the beginning; by not firing this woman and holding themselves to the same standards they applied to ABC/Disney/their white reporter, they effectively just proved the argument of the Trump base. This is the perfect thing for Trump to use to undermine the work the NYT has done; to be frank, I have doubts about their impartiality, and this has only substantiated. You can’t fire a white person and brand them as a racist, then give someone of another race a “joke” pass purely because of their race; arguing that it’s ok for someone to say those things because their race hasn’t faced oppression is nonsensical.
Personally, I feel that people should be able to say whatever as long as it doesn’t interfere with their work. Presidents Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson both said horribly racist things in private, but it didn’t affect their ability to do their job the right way. While that is a hyperbolic example, my point stands.
Rant over, my apologies for the diversion.