The New York Times is arguably THE newspaper of note. “All
the news that’s fit to print” reads their motto. As a child I knew this to be a
serious newspaper because it didn’t have a comics section. As a young adult, I
knew it to be an intelligent publication because their crossword puzzle was so
much harder than any other paper’s. And from that time to now, I always had an
idea of those in charge of the newspaper, an unknown and unknowable group of
intellectuals who came from the very best schools and worked their way up the
ranks to at last sit at the peak of the journalistic mountain. Journalistic
gods who could not be questioned but only admired.
When I imagined an editor at the Gray Lady, I pictured…well,
a gray lady. Or a gray man. Someone seasoned by a career in journalism. Someone
who had seen it all, who had travelled throughout the world and gotten to know
the most influential and interesting people on the planet.Someone who had sat in trenches with soldiers in wartime and been witness to the suffering of ordinary people as the great events of our age played out. And then I watched
this interview:
This is Bari Weiss, opinions page editor for The New York Times. Not at all what I had imagined.
The very first words out of her mouth set the tone: “Oh, I
don’t know. I don’t know who can beat him (Donald Trump)”. It is a window into
her soul. Clearly it is the horse race that is of primary concern to her, not
issues. Eleanor Roosevelt said “Great minds discuss ideas; average ones discuss
events; small minds discuss people.” Hers is obviously not a great mind, and it
could be argued that it is not the event itself but the outsized personality of
Trump that demands her attention.
Obvious too is her vested interest in the subject. She does
not sit back as would be expected of an editor, apart from and above the fray,
objective like any professional journalist should be. There is a clear bias in
her viewpoint, which Joe Rogan cleverly feeds.
The next time she opens her mother to speak, it is do say:
“Duh”.
Her third utterance begins with a repeat of her first: “I
don’t know who can beat him right now. And I’m sc… I don’t know.” It’s pretty
apparent she was about to say “I’m scared”, and then stopped, remembering that
as a journalist she’s not supposed to insert her own emotions and feelings into
her writing or speech.
Keep in mind now we are discussing an editor of the opinions
section for the most prestigious newspaper in the United States, not some
gum-cracking secretary for The Enquirer. One would assume she has beaten out
virtually every other person with a journalism degree in the country. Chris
Hedges isn’t even worthy of a job with the NYT.
Okay, now fast forward to one and a half minutes in, when
Joe Rogan mentions Tulsi Gabbard as one of those running in the Democratic
primary. There is an immediate reaction from Bari, and she utters the word
“montras (mispronunciation of monstrous)”. Clearly she has deeply felt opinions
of why Tulsi is a bad candidate. Let’s listen to her explain them.
“Monstrous…ideas.”
“She’s an Assad toady.”
Joe Rogan: “What’s that mean? What’s a toady?”
At this point Berri is uncertain of her own argument, even
though she is so obviously viscerally attached to it. She looks off-camera for
confirmation.
Berri: “I think that I used that word right. Jamie, can you
look up what toady means?”
So obviously it is not a word she uses often. Hence, the
statement “she’s an Assad toady” is not a position she came to on her own but
rather she is parroting what she has heard another or others say. She then
hammers home her unfamiliarity with the word she just used by misspelling it to
Jamie: “t-o-a-d-i-e”. Keep in mind she works in print journalism. At America’s
premier newspaper. As an editor.
Joe Rogan: “What does that mean?”
Berri: “I think it means what I think it means.”
Whenever you see someone expressing thoughts in words they
are not familiar with, it is because they are expressing thoughts they did not
think themselves. To further the point that the argument she makes did not
evolve from actual thoughts in her own mind, she answers Joe Rogan’s question
“So she’s an Assad sycophant, is that what you’re saying?”
Berri: “Yeah, that’s pr-…that’s known.”
So obviously it’s proven and known, but to whom? If it was
proven and known to Berri, she would have facts or arguments to back up such an
assertion, right? I mean, she is the editor of the opinions page of The New
York Times. Who on this planet should be more qualified to back up a statement
with a compelling and fact-packed argument? But that is not the case, so it’s
simply that she has her opinion on good authority. In other words, she as a
journalist and editorial writer and editor, is doing nothing more than parroting the
opinions of others, the very opposite of what one should expect from someone in
her position. She is not a free thinker providing perspective and facts to
other free thinkers, she is part of a chain of command that funnels down the
official position from her bosses to her readers. I’m guessing there have been no opinion pieces in the New
York Times about Tulsi Gabbard that does not call her a toady or at least imply
it.
I do not accuse her of being a censor. She’s just not that bright
or self-aware. It is clear from the interview she thinks she’s a real
journalist. She’s assuredly received enough pats on the head and “good girls”
from those above her to believe what she’s doing is quality work in the same
vein as Edward R. Murrow, Molly Ivins, or H. L. Mencken. But if she had the same desire to
dig for and share the truth as them, she would not be where she is now.
Bari Weiss has very strong opinions without any idea of why
she has them. One would be tempted to say she was unfit to run a high school
newspaper but she is precisely the kind to be chosen: the kind who will never
ever rock the boat or inconvenience power. She has proven herself time after
time in a system that weeds out the trouble makers, the free thinkers, and the
truth tellers. Hell, she doesn't even seem capable of standing on equal footing while talking politics with a guy who had people eat bugs on Fear Factor and does commentary on cage fighting.
Take one more look. This is the best of the best, the crème
de la crème corporate media has to offer. Now look at what indie journalism
and indie commentators have to say, and tell me which impresses you more, which
is more deserving of your time.
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