I am an unreserved enthusiast of all things Bari Weiss. I am a fan, true, but I am equally interested in the vile antipathy with which she is treated by virtually anyone with a public opinion on her. It fascinates me. How this Jewish lesbian center-left NYT op-editor became the left’s favorite Nazi to hate is utterly beyond comprehension.
I thought I might take this opportunity to offer the confused and casual observer of political journalism a bit of a cheat sheet on how to arrive at an opinion on the controversial editor. One can do this by reading the glut of opinion pieces she has written over her many years in public life, but in this edition of The Apostate I have opted to examine the nature and motives of her attackers. As is so often the case, there is arguably more to learn about Bari from her enemies than from her own writings.
Marisa Kabas posted this Tweet, presumably in an attempt to kick Bari while she’s down. Not since my years as an amateur basketball enthusiast in college has an attempt at a dunk been so misguided and failed so miserably. Anyone who has had a pitch rejected from a major publication (in my case, several, several times) recognizes this email for what it is—a kind-hearted, honest, considerate rejection that both advises and invites future pitches. In other words, Bari was an editor. She was acting as an editor. Further, she was acting as the sort of editor that is all-too-rare in modern political journalism. She jealously guards the quality of the work appearing in the paper whose gate she is tasked with keeping and attempting to minimize the sort of shallow, repetitive drivel that drives outrage clicks and seems to be increasingly common in the world of the ad-driven media business model.
I use this Tweet as an example because it so brilliantly illustrates the gist of the irrational hatred for Bari Weiss. No individual capable of thinking rationally or interested in good faith would read that email as a slight. One would have to harbor extreme prejudice for Bari in order to view that email as even mildly objectionable, let alone insulting. Which brings us to the point. The hatred for Bari is the worst kind of confirmation bias—mindless, based on the subjective personal feelings of others, and desperate.
There is nothing interesting about Bari’s detractors. They all use the same attacks. They all hold the same views. They all write the same handful of pieces day after day, week after week, ad infinitum. There goes Nikole Hannah-Jones lying about American history in exchange for a Pulitzer again. Oh, here is Nathan J. Robinson calling anyone right of Marx a right-wing fascist once more. This will shock you, but Wajahat Ali has once again called Trump a white supremacist. Like parakeets repeating the handful of words drilled into them at the pet store, progressive columnists routinely pick from the same basket of laundered and approved talking points come deadline time. Is it any wonder that the same group of uninspired, dull, pointless writers would act so vindictively, so cruelly, and so childishly towards the one woman in their institution who would dare to challenge their hegemony in the pages of the Times? Further, is it any surprise they would all use the exact same uninspired and boring attacks? These aren’t writers, they are (badly) programmed automatons, for whom independent thought is quite literally impossible.
COCKTAIL OF THE DAY
The Old Fashioned is a classic drink for classic people. Simple yet elegant, it’s an easy fallback cocktail for the inexperienced mixolophile to order at a civilized establishment. For the more adventurous amateur mixologist, I would recommend replacing the standard simple syrup with a 2:1 brown sugar/water mixture, reduced on the stove until the sugar dissolves completely into a molasses-colored sweet concoction. Use Bulleit bourbon if you can swing it, otherwise Makers Mark will work splendidly. 2 parts bourbon, 1 part syrup, 3 dashes of angostura bitters, and 1 dash of lavender bitters. Cut a twist out of an orange peel, twist it over the drink, and serve in a low-ball glass with ice, preferably one large sphere or cube. Enjoy.