The New York Times Town Hall Meeting

Really interesting interplay between Dean Baquet and the NYT staff. Long but worth a drive through it.

Here’s the Transcript of the New York Times Town-Hall Meeting

First, you wonder if Baquet knew, ahead of time, the whole meeting would be leaked - and which person might leak it.

Second, Baquet sounds like a leader who has a serious, committed group of progressives on hand. This is part of a staffer's question. Obviously racism is a longstanding problem in America, and should naturally be a part of a lot of reporting. But this one perspective seems almost too narrow:

I just feel like racism is in everything. It should be considered in our science reporting, in our culture reporting, in our national reporting. And so, to me, it’s less about the individual instances of racism, and sort of how we’re thinking about racism and white supremacy as the foundation of all of the systems in the country. And I think particularly as we are launching a 1619 Project, I feel like that’s going to open us up to even more criticism from people who are like, “OK, well you’re saying this, and you’re producing this big project about this. But are you guys actually considering this in your daily reporting?”

 

Do you disagree with this?

 

Dean Baquet is a veteran journalist. Of course he knew the whole meeting would be leaked. He may have designated somebody to do just that.

 

And make himself seem clueless and out of touch? That's a bold strategy, Cotton.

 

Part of being clueless and out of touch is not realizing how clueless and out of touch you are, though.

 

Did Baquet manage the leak of the transcript. No, Times too stuffy for that. Did he know it would leak? He should've. It's pretty clear from the transcript that any number of employees left that session unhappy. If he can't read his own room, that's not good.

 

I agree with Baquet.

Racist is an adjective in many cases. It’s like a word like fat or sunny or hot or spicy. There are degrees to it. If anything that is remotely or possibly racist to one person might not seem racist to another, but there are instances where you cannot argue that the act was not a racist act.

I think what he is trying to say is reign in the use of the word so it is more accurately used and not up for debate when used.

Nazi flag. KKK. Those are racist organizations.

I think Brew Through in the OBX uses the rebel flag on t-shirts. Racist? To some, but I would not print it. Lee High School, named after Robert E. Lee... is that racist? Maybe. Insensitive? Probably the better term.

Racist is a very strong word. It should be saved for specific uses.

The though thing is, our President lives in insensitive land. He has never been recorded saying a slur, even though the eye test to his overall work leans greatly to him being a racist against anything that isn’t white.

 

Um.

How Segregation Caused Your Traffic Jam

Atlanta has some of the worst traffic in the United States. Drivers there average two hours each week mired in gridlock, hung up at countless spots, from the constantly clogged Georgia 400 to a complicated cluster of overpasses at Tom Moreland Interchange, better known as “Spaghetti Junction.” The Downtown Connector — a 12-to-14-lane megahighway that in theory connects the city’s north to its south — regularly has three-mile-long traffic jams that last four hours or more. Commuters might assume they’re stuck there because some city planner made a mistake, but the heavy congestion actually stems from a great success. In Atlanta, as in dozens of cities across America, daily congestion is a direct consequence of a century-long effort to segregate the races.

 

The Impact of Racism on Children’s Health

But the impact of bias on children’s health starts even before they’re born, Dr. Trent said. Persistent racial disparities in birth weight and maternal mortality in the United States today may in part reflect the deprivations of poverty, with less availability of good prenatal care, and poorer medical care in general for minority families, sometimes shaped by unacknowledged biases on the part of medical personnel. High rates of heart disease and hypertension also persist among African-Americans.

There is also increasing attention to the ongoing stress of living with discrimination and racism, and the toll that takes on body and mind throughout life.
That kind of chronic stress can lead to hormonal changes and inflammation, which set people up for chronic disease. Studies show that mothers who report experiencing discrimination are more likely to have infants with low birth weight.

 

That story used the word "racist" once, and it was used properly.

 

I don't think that the story used the word "racist" at all, but it used the word "racism."

I am against flinging around "racist" with little discretion when people are calling a specific person a racist. Saying racism was involved is miles away from calling someone racist.

The NYT is the standard-bearer. It is the highest level of journalism and proper, I choose the word carefully, free speech in America today. Just because you are allowed to say it, it does not mean you should.

If the NYT is using the word "racist" as freely as handing out cookies at a birthday party, then people will notice. That word will get used more and more, and, dear God, it's used a lot.

The police officer is racist for arresting that man.
That man is racist for not supporting the troops.
That place is racist because I don't see a black employee.
Sly and the Family Stone is racist because they have a white drummer.
That guy who went into the Wal Mart to kill Hispanics was a racist. - That one I'm fine with.

I see what is trying to be done. I hope I am explaining it well enough.

 

I agree with your point racism and racist are two different things. That's why racism is worse, and why getting white people to look at it is harder.