I might get in trouble for this, but it’ll be good trouble. I’ve been trying to put my finger on why this Bari Weiss resignation & recent cancel culture whining has annoyed me. I mean there’s so much to be concerned about in the world. 1/

I think I know what it is: the utter hypocrisy of it all & the lack of self-awareness. The people who have fueled their careers by telling people, mostly POC, to stop playing identity politics, stop whining, stop being politically correct, stop creating “safe spaces"... 2/

They are actually the ones who are incapable of having their ideas, merit, talent, and work critiqued in an open space, sorry, I meant “free market of ideas.” 3/

The same crusaders for the first amendment, who demand free speech to be cruel & disparage certain marginalized groups, turn around and often snitch, whine, complain, roll their eyes or “work the refs” to, wait for it, cancel their critics or people they want to be silenced. 4/

Talk to writers and journalists of color: we’ve been canceled, silenced, ignored, erased, stereotyped, passed over, used on photo ops for brochures and made into sidekicks forever and yet still we persist and endure and succeed. 5/

It is no coincidence that this “economic anxiety” & freakout has emerged at a time of an immense reckoning in this country about white supremacy & its long reach of injustice and inequity that has tainted nearly every industry, especially the media landscape. 6/

Some gatekeepers are terrified right now. Absolutely terrified. Meanwhile, unlike these fragile, porcelain teacups, the rest of us don’t want special status, we just want equal status; we don’t special standards, just equal standards. 7/

But an equal playing field, where true merit reveals talent, work, insight and creativity, to them is oppression.

So, now we attack manufactured straw men and windmills; we have a “civil war” between “wokes” and “non wokes.”

8/

The voluntary resignation of some journalists is seen as the biggest story and scandal, which is amazing to me. Amazing, during a pandemic, a recession, and the Trump Presidency. 9/

We're in a time where journalists are under assault, Trump's using fascist terms calling us “enemy of the people” & POC writers are finally sharing their long-suppressed stories of being marginalized. These stories? We’re not victims. We're whiners playing the “race card.” 10/

I'm all for fairness in this industry, & if there are injustices, then I’m all for a thorough investigation. Make it transparent. Do an audit. Talk to everyone. Bring the receipts. It’ll be good for the entire industry & create a positive, empowering, equal culture for all. 11/

Ultimately, I for one am tired of this hypocrisy & double standards & feel compelled to call it out. I am heartened to see I’m not the only one. My kid survived cancer. We’re all surviving a pandemic. This ain’t my first rodeo, & I’m not one to back down from a good fight. 12/

This letter is signed by "a not so young woke" who’s about to turn 40 in a couple of months and gives fewer F’s and is loving it.

END.