Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg has fired conservative writer Kevin Williamson for “his views on the subject of the death penalty and abortion.” For those of you who missed it, Williamson came under fire for tweets suggesting that “the law should treat abortion like any other homicide” and that by extension, women who have abortions could face the death penalty. That’s most definitely a controversial position, but Williamson is vehemently pro-life and has never made any secret of his anti-abortion perspective:
For those of you unfamiliar with where Kevin Williamson comes from on this issue https://t.co/aPAgsWcf72 pic.twitter.com/zvjBvimhR1
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 5, 2018
This is well stated. Then again I strongly disagree with his view on the death penalty for women who seek abortions as a matter of law (I happen to oppose both capital punishment and abortion), but agreement/endorsement of views — even radical ones — is not the point. https://t.co/UZMf9zJzKV
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 5, 2018
It’s hard to believe that Goldberg wasn’t familiar with Williamson’s views when he originally hired him. But if Williamson’s opinions are so objectionable to Goldberg as to warrant his getting fired, then why the hell is Goldberg still giving a platform to someone like Ta-Nehisi Coates?
So, when does The Atlantic fire the man who wrote this? Or is the magazine's official position one of approval? @JeffreyGoldberghttps://t.co/oifcZMz97o pic.twitter.com/COwmWNDduA
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/GillBHensley/status/981967785520545792
I’d say that “abortion should be treated as homicide” – a view I do not support, but that I rationally understand, and which is shared by millions of people – is a hell of a lot more reasonable than “I didn’t think of those first responders as real human beings”
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 5, 2018
Recommended
No kidding.
Yup. Coates has also, as @DavidAFrench noted, been an apologist for riots. He's also repeatedly slyly suggested violent revolution. All of which is approved by @JeffreyGoldberg https://t.co/oRLNXNahZT
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 5, 2018
Ta-Nehisi Coates said he watched 9/11 from a rooftop in Brooklyn, and said of the first responders: "They were not human to me."
He's a hero to the same people cheering Kevin Williamson's firing. https://t.co/qXhEgWLq9B
— Currently between fraudulent suspensions (@jtLOL) April 5, 2018
Double standard, much?
Meanwhile, Coates is sitting pretty. And crap like this is what passes for “acceptable” discourse in the abortion debate:
Here's just a sample of what Atlantic is eager to run on abortion.
"Abortion Was a No-Brainer"
No brainer indeed.
"I Told Her She Had to Have an Abortion"
HAD TO
"I’ve Had Two Abortions. Only One Was Legal."
Legal, illegal? No matter.https://t.co/F7msw7JOID
— Geoffrey Ingersoll (@GPIngersoll) April 5, 2018
Advocating, even celebrating, the murder of children is totally OK with these people.
"It's OK to kill them, they're not really people like you & me" has always been the siren song of atrocity. In a decent society, such opinions would be beyond the pale. https://t.co/QJu8TLULv4
— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 5, 2018
Editor’s note: To clarify, this post isn’t meant to suggest that Coates should lose his job over his opinions — objectionable as they may be — but that he should be held to the same standards as Williamson.
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Update:
Oh, hey:
Julia Ioffe was hired by the Atlantic after she was fired by Politico for suggesting that President-elect Trump was having a sexual relationship with his daughter. pic.twitter.com/FZ1E9BDEWW
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) April 5, 2018
Still works for The Atlantic. pic.twitter.com/nrgWdLdrtY
— BT (@back_ttys) April 5, 2018
Welp.
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Related:
‘THIS is why’! Kevin Williamson’s firing DESTROYS Brian Stelter’s take on conservative writers
NAILED IT: Guy Benson sums up Kevin Williamson’s firing in just THREE words
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