If you work for the liberal media, there are so many things you can be fired for these days, especially if you're a straight old white guy.
An old white guy over at Slate was put on indefinite leave yesterday merely for having a private discussion with some of his coworkers on the topic of "When is it appropriate for a white person to quote a black person's use of [the N word]?"
For example, is it OK for me, a white guy, to quote Larry Wigmore in my LJ for saying to then-President Obama on national television, "Yo, Barry, you did it, my nigga."
A black coworker at Slate was quoted in the NYT as saying it is never appropriate for a white person to use the N word even when quoting a black person. The NYT had it's own ritual firing recently regarding a similar situation.
OK, I'm not black, I can't know what it is like being black, but now we're getting into the ridiculous zone. We cannot even have clinical discussions about when it may be appropriate to quote somebody else's use of a slur?
Larry Kramer famously wrote a novel titled Faggots. Should any straight person who merely refers to the title of this book, in the context of discussing Larry Kramer's life, be fired from their job?
There's all kinds of older American literature in which characters use the N word, must these works all be banned? Is there really no such thing as context anymore?
I always wish people would get as upset about poverty and incarceration as they do about this kind of stuff.
But, hey, it's 21st Century media capitalism, if you want to work as a public figure in the liberal media you've got to know your audience and avoid upsetting your advertisers. Apparently there's an endless supply of people they can replace you with, people who will do the same reporting and the same podcasts for lower pay than the old white guy they just fired.
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K and I were having a little discussion about age differentials in romantic/sexual relationships and how poorly they are viewed by the gossip media, and often with good reason, because of older dudes who sexually assault younger women, or powerful older dudes who offer cute young guys internships so they can flirt with them on the job.
Coincidentally, yesterday I received a text message from one of my younger repeat hookup fellas, he's now in law school, and he wanted some help finding a summer internship with my employer. I immediately decided that I would not hire him myself, because I've repeatedly had sex with him and would do so again, in fact the previous text he'd sent to me before this one was a picture of his erect cock. I would also recuse myself from any decision regarding his hiring. But my agency is a big place, I sent him the link to the page with information on how to apply, and advised him regarding where to send his application. I would never use my position to aid somebody I've had sex with, or to recruit somebody I would have sex with.
A couple years ago, I discovered my then-summer intern's profile on Recon. I immediately blocked him, and I never brought up with him anything to do with BDSM or sex or his romantic life. It's not appropriate.
I am openly gay with coworkers, and also openly nonbinary. Sometimes I worry about having inappropriate discussions with coworkers, while also wanting to be open about my life instead of closeted. I'm not as open about being poly, it depends on who I'm talking with. But I'd never touch or hug a coworker, would never ask them about their sex life. Certainly would never ask one on a date. I'm friendly, but not friends with coworkers. I keep that sphere of my life separate.
But I do worry about how the lines of appropriate behavior keep shifting, and about how firing people seems to be the option of first resort these days. People of good intent can make mistakes. It shouldn't be the end of their careers.
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