Bari Weiss makes a living expressing her opinions – and she is not hesitant to encourage cancel culture. This time she canceled herself. Weiss resigned from her position as a writer and editor for the opinion department at The New York Times Tuesday.
Weiss announced her resignation in a lengthy letter addressed to Times’ publisher A.G. Sulzberger posted to her personal website. In it she cited “bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views,” as well as “unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge” as some of the reasons she arrived at her decision.
During her three-year tenure with the Times, Weiss was known for ruffling feathers with her columns. A staunch advocate for Jewish right, Weiss has criticized activist Tamika Mallory, author Marc Lamont Hill, Nation of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan and countless others for their views.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin
Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
In an op-ed entitled “When Progressives Embrace Hate” in 2017, Weiss criticized both Mallory and Farrakhan. In an op-ed published in 2019, Weiss wrote:
“Indeed, some Jews have insisted that we ought to hold back from criticizing people of color who have recently exposed their anti-Semitism (Tamika Mallory, Marc Lamont Hill) because, well, it’s just not a good look to be criticizing leaders of the black community right now.”
This came after Hill was fired from CNN for making what many deemed anti-Semitic comments. She has been accused of being racist and advocating for professors who were pro-Palestinian to be fired.
However, Weiss describes herself as a “centrist” and said the Times boasts an “illiberal environment” that has increasingly become a kind of performance space” where “the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society” are no longer welcome.
She added “self-censorship has become the norm” at the paper and “intellectual curiosity—let alone risk-taking—is now a liability at The Times.”
She criticized Sulzberger for letting such a culture brew at the paper.
“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,” Weiss wrote.
The New Republic (TNR) slammed Weiss’ resignation letter as lacking credence.
“Like much of her writing, the former New York Times editor’s resignation letter is long on accusation and thin on evidence,” TNR wrote. “Weiss wants to frame her resignation as a consequence of this supposed hostile takeover—that she’s a free thinker cast out by an intolerant, illiberal regime. But her letter, while long on invective (and just plain long), is short on evidence, and what she’s done instead amounts to auto-cancellation: quitting, then blaming her peers for driving her out.”