The Washington Post’s Felicia Sonmez accused her colleague, Jose A. Del Real, of attacking her after he — quite mildly! — called her out for the “targeted harassment” of Dave Weigel:
“When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol. Last night, a Post colleague publicly attacked me for calling out another colleague’s sexist tweet. He first hid any replies objecting to his attacks, and now seems to have deleted his account. 1/2″
When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol.
Last night, a Post colleague publicly attacked me for calling out another colleague’s sexist tweet. He first hid any replies objecting to his attacks, and now seems to have deleted his account. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/e7ksvS9hFc
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022
Wow. There was nothing wrong with what he tweeted:
His responses were the opposite of vitriol.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) June 5, 2022
Del Real has briefly deleted his account and Sonmez tagged WaPo executive editor Sally Buzbee in a follow-up tweet, asking if she agreed with what Del Real said:
“Objecting to sexism is not “clout chasing.” It’s not “harassment.” And it’s certainly not “cruelty.” Does the Washington Post agree? @SallyBuzbee @mateagold Here is a personal thread I wrote last night about why speaking out matters to me and other women. 2/2″
Objecting to sexism is not “clout chasing.” It’s not “harassment.” And it’s certainly not “cruelty.”
Does the Washington Post agree? @SallyBuzbee @mateagold
Here is a personal thread I wrote last night about why speaking out matters to me and other women. 2/2 https://t.co/nmVqaD7nOk
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022
Del Real then defended himself in the 6-tweet thread:
Last night I came under an unrelenting series of attacks intended to tarnish my professional and personal reputation. The cause? Some tweets I sent calling for compassion within our workplace. Those attacks continued this morning. 1/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
In hopes of de-escalating, I temporarily deactivated my account, amid a barrage of online abuse directed by one person but carried out by an eager mob. The one-sided attacks continued even after I stopped engaging. I know the old adage: Hurt people hurt people. But what then? 2/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
In such a situation, it is difficult to find the line between sympathizing and challenging with compassion. My instinct is to defend myself. But I talk a big game about kindness, and I’m going to try to practice some of that now by simply moving on and not engaging. 3/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
I *will* just say that I am proud to be part of a workplace where, contrary to the impression created on this forum, many people are actively engaged in the work of dismantling systems of sexism, racism, and homophobia. Sometimes that work is loud, and sometimes it is quiet. 4/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
As the only Mexican American reporter on the national desk, I know the sting of discriminatory systems firsthand. Anyone who wants you to believe they alone are trying to fix it is doing a disservice to the amazing team effort unfolding, of which I am proud to a part. 5/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
I’ll end where I began: Let’s be kinder to each other. I really believe empathy is a necessary tool in this effort to improve our workplaces and our culture. We can all be better. I certainly will continue trying to be. 6/6
— Jose A. Del Real (@jdelreal) June 5, 2022
Now, we don’t know if Buzbee agreed or not with what Sonmez tweeted, but the executive editor did send this email out to all staffers after Sonmez’s tweet above telling them to take their concerns to “leadership or human relations” and to “treat each other with respect and kindness”:
In the wake of the recent social media dustups involving WaPo journalists, Executive Editor Sally Buzbee sends a memo to journalists admonishing them to treat each other with respect and kindness: pic.twitter.com/nRd5h0kLLD
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) June 5, 2022
In response to that, Sonmez accused her boss of providing “fodder for *more* harassment.”
GET THE POPCORN:
“Example 5 billion and then some. Especially great when a statement from your newspaper’s executive editor provides fodder for *more* harassment.”
Example 5 billion and then some. Especially great when a statement from your newspaper’s executive editor provides fodder for *more* harassment. pic.twitter.com/nwNLPOcSDm
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022
And she’s still calling out Del Real:
So far I’ve received no apology from my colleague for baselessly accusing me of engaging in “bullying,” “harassment” and “cruelty” — just for objecting to a sexist tweet.
I did, however, receive an email from him accusing me of fostering a “toxic workplace.” And now this! https://t.co/xrP9VO0KxL pic.twitter.com/g0ChLWQslf
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 5, 2022
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Related:
WaPo’s Dave Weigel apologizes for retweeting ‘an offensive joke’ about women
