PC at the NYT

Here’s a revealing account by an English MP of negotiations with The New York Times over an op-ed piece. The Times wanted to change “Guinea” to “Chile” in a reference to a bribe to the president of Guinea, and get rid of the interjection “Gee” because it means “Jesus” and might offend Christians.

The concern over “Gee” as provocative to Christians was just weird, given their usual attitude toward Christianity, although I suppose pathological scrupulosity on one narrow point sometimes goes with general abusiveness. The Chile/Guinea business has a clearer explanation. It’s obvious the people at the Times consider Africans inferior and can’t deal with it — that’s one reason they’re obsessed with racism. And if you believe there’s an elephant in the room that you’d very much like to ignore you’ll be upset by any glancing reference to the color gray. All in all, the account suggests once again that extreme niceness of speech most likely shows nastiness of mind.
Posted by Jim Kalb at March 27, 2003 06:49 AM | Send