The New York Times’s strange Rushdie silence

[Julian]

That failure to stand up for the right to publish is shocking enough


The New York Times has never been shy about sharing its opinion —
especially when it comes to bashing Britain. In recent years, Cockburn
has greatly enjoyed reading the London dispatches from America’s least
reliable news source, in which Brexit Britain is re-imagined as an
autocratic archipelago where plague-riddled, rain-drenched,
swamp-dwelling subjects devour legs of mutton and fascistic propaganda.

But now, Cockburn has rare cause to bemoan the “Gray Lady’s” absence.
For the NYT, whose staff proudly consider it to be the world’s leading
liberal newspaper, has been strangely quiet on an area of intense local
concern. The stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie in New York State shocked
the world last Friday, with expressions of condemnation and solidarity
being issued across the West. Not though, it seems, at NYT Towers where,
four days on, there has not been a single opinion piece by one of its
many writers decrying the attack on the British author or defending free
speech.

That failure to stand up for the right to publish is shocking enough but
especially when one considers that the assault occurred in New York
itself. As Josh Glancy of the Sunday Times of London wrote: “You don’t
have to like Rushdie or The Satanic Verses to see that this issue of
free speech is — or should be — a core liberal and indeed progressive
tenet. Someone trying to stab him out of existence is surely worthy of
comment.”

Apparently not. Still, at least they had space for such gems as “The
Joys of Swimming While Fat” and “I Still Believe in the Power of Sexual
Freedom.” Talk about solidarity.

Cockburn

[Noah Sombrero]

On Tue, 16 Aug 2022 19:53:46 +0100, Julian <julia...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>That failure to stand up for the right to publish is shocking enough
>
>
>The New York Times has never been shy about sharing its opinion —
>especially when it comes to bashing Britain. In recent years, Cockburn
>has greatly enjoyed reading the London dispatches from America’s least
>reliable news source, in which Brexit Britain is re-imagined as an
>autocratic archipelago where plague-riddled, rain-drenched,
>swamp-dwelling subjects devour legs of mutton and fascistic propaganda.
>
>But now, Cockburn has rare cause to bemoan the “Gray Lady’s” absence.
>For the NYT, whose staff proudly consider it to be the world’s leading
>liberal newspaper, has been strangely quiet on an area of intense local
>concern. The stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie in New York State shocked
>the world last Friday, with expressions of condemnation and solidarity
>being issued across the West. Not though, it seems, at NYT Towers where,
>four days on, there has not been a single opinion piece by one of its
>many writers decrying the attack on the British author or defending free
>speech.
>
>That failure to stand up for the right to publish is shocking enough but
>especially when one considers that the assault occurred in New York
>itself. As Josh Glancy of the Sunday Times of London wrote: “You don’t
>have to like Rushdie or The Satanic Verses to see that this issue of
>free speech is — or should be — a core liberal and indeed progressive
>tenet. Someone trying to stab him out of existence is surely worthy of
>comment.”

Sometimes a person must think, enough has been said.

>Apparently not. Still, at least they had space for such gems as “The
>Joys of Swimming While Fat” and “I Still Believe in the Power of Sexual
>Freedom.” Talk about solidarity.

No excuse for that stuff though.

>Cockburn
--
Noah Sombrero