As we reported yesterday, newly appointed Teen Vogue editor in chief Alexi McCammond “decided to part ways with [Teen Vogue publisher] Condé Nast” after some problematic tweets she sent as a 17-year-old were brought to light:
Hey there: I’ve decided to part ways with Condé Nast. Here is my statement about why – pic.twitter.com/YmnHVtZSce
— Alexi McCammond (@alexi) March 18, 2021
To be clear: her past tweets have overshadowed the work she’s done because the Woke Mob is relentless and ruthless and bloodthirsty.
In a sane world, things people say as 17-year-olds wouldn’t become a permanent stain that could potentially derail their careers. But we’re no longer living in a sane world, are we?
Journalist and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell — who doesn’t fit neatly into the Woke Mob’s mold of what a critic of cancel culture is supposed to look and sound like —ppppppppp is deeply troubled by what’s happened to Alexi McCammond and the fact that it’s only the latest car on the runaway train heading toward the cliff’s edge.
I’m curious to know what the new age cut-off is for “youthful indiscretions.” https://t.co/AlcwRQs65k
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Re—the Alexi McCommand case: the criminalization of black adolescent behavior is one of the bedrock principles of American racism. White people get a childhood and the privilege to make mistakes in the name of moral development. Black people don’t.
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Gladwell has posed a series of questions to Condé Nast in the wake of McCammond’s departure:
Question for Condé Nast HR: have they also scrutinized the childhood statements of their white editors?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Recommended
Another question for Condé Nast HR: do they think that there is a meaningful distinction between adulthood and adolescence?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: I once wrote a really stupid essay on Joe McCarthy as a 17 year old. Should I have disclosed it when I was hired by The New Yorker?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: what message do they think it sends to the readers of Teen Vogue that something dumb you say as a teenager can ruin your career? Will Teen Vogue be addressing this issue?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: do they have a formal position on the process of adolescent moral development? Or are they just reading their Twitter feed?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR, what is the cutoff age for dumb-things-said-in-childhood? 15? 13? Are we accountable for offensive Halloween costumes worn in middle school?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: if they don’t believe there is a meaningful distinction between adolescence and adulthood, will they now be shutting down Teen Vogue?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: do they believe that people can meaningfully apologize for past misdeeds? If not, why not? If so, what does an acceptable apology under their rules look like?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Another question for Condé Nast HR: can they provide the baffled readers of their publications the academic and scholarly references used to reach their novel interpretation of adolescent character development?
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Final question for Condé Nast HR: please give us all one-ONE-reason why this isn’t just another case of the kind of dumb racist assumptions that black people have been dealing with for too long.
— Malcolm Gladwell (@Gladwell) March 19, 2021
Condé Nast is in the business of words. Surely they’ve got some for Malcolm Gladwell, right?
After all, he’s written for the New Yorker for decades, and Condé Nast also publishes the New Yorker.
What Malcolm @Gladwell is doing in going to bat for Alexi McCammond and going after Conde Nast is particularly noteworthy, because the New Yorker is owned by Conde Nast.
He’s right, of course, too. pic.twitter.com/Igrjx3a1J1
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) March 19, 2021
Will Condé Nast hang Gladwell out to dry, too?
Uh oh. You can get cancelled for that remark.
— grantg (@grantg) March 19, 2021
Join the conversation as a VIP Member