Bari Weiss, is now a former editor from the New York Times. In what could be one of the longest resignation letters in history, Weiss wrote about the type of Harassment she went through just because she is just slightly to the right of Vladimir Lenin. The lesson here is don’t go to work for the NEW York Times unless you are a seasoned fellow traveler.
Weiss spoke about how the other employees at the paper treated her. If she were a dog instead of being human, her tormentors would be spending some real quality time in an institution known best for their orange jumpsuits. Anyone with anything less than a pure degree of socialistic tendencies, need not apply.
The resignation letter:
My own forays into Wrongthink have made me the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views. They have called me a Nazi and a racist; I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m “writing about the Jews again.” Several colleagues perceived to be friendly with me were badgered by coworkers. My work and my character are openly demeaned on company-wide Slack channels where masthead editors regularly weigh in. There, some coworkers insist I need to be rooted out if this company is to be a truly “inclusive” one, while others post ax emojis next to my name. Still other New York Times employees publicly smear me as a liar and a bigot on Twitter with no fear that harassing me will be met with appropriate action. They never are.
There are terms for all of this: unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge. I’m no legal expert. But I know that this is wrong.
I do not understand how you have allowed this kind of behavior to go on inside your company in full view of the paper’s entire staff and the public. And I certainly can’t square how you and other Times leaders have stood by while simultaneously praising me in private for my courage. Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.
A Times spokesperson sent Vice the following statement from Kathleen Kingsbury, acting editorial page editor:
We appreciate the many contributions that Bari made to Times Opinion. I’m personally committed to ensuring that The Times continues to publish voices, experiences and viewpoints from across the political spectrum in the Opinion report. We see every day how impactful and important that approach is, especially through the outsized influence The Times’s opinion journalism has on the national conversation.
If you believe that, I have some land in Florida I will sell you. It’s surrounded by water….on all six sides.