You shouldn't unsubscribe from our paper just because we hired that man who says birds are the devil
The New York Times recently came under fire for publishing (and sending a push notification about) an op-ed from a new columnist giving credence to climate change deniers. Something similar happened to us and we would like to take the time to address it below.
As the editor of this paper, I would like to make a statement regarding readers' responses to the work of our recently hired op-ed columnist, Brick Stephens.
Mr. Stephens' opinion piece entitled, "Birds are the Devil" has received a swell of negative letters from longtime subscribers. Many have cancelled their subscriptions, and more still have called for the firing of the columnist in question.
These responses are wrong and unfair.
Firstly, I would urge everyone to actually read the column in question. Did you read it? Mr. Stephens does not claim that birds are the devil, as so many wrongly assume. He merely raises questions and doubts regarding the widely held belief that birds are not the devil.
"Can we be so certain that birds, the terrifying beasts with their blood red eyes and knife-like beaks, whose ability to fly should scare us all far more than it does, are not the devil? I believe that the science is not settled, and that the culture of certainty around the issue is patronizing and unfair," writes Stephens, who then goes on to tie everything into a flat earth theory.
Is that so bad??? I didn't think so, and that's why I hired the guy!
You don't have to agree with the column. I don't, for the most part! It is an opinion. People are allowed their opinions, and all opinions are equally correct and worth publishing. While many of our readers believe that birds are just normal things that exist and are not the devil, others could feel alienated by that.
Many of our readers believe that birds are just normal things that exist and are not the devil. Others might not agree.
I know what you're thinking. "It's incredibly damaging to expose hundreds of thousands of people to these outdated ideas, based on misinterpreted facts and willful ignorance, and promote them as if this were a two-sided, partisan issue."
Okay. I hear you. But aren't you a little skeptical of birds, what they want, and why their eyes seem to follow me wherever I go?
Should we be killing every bird in the world on the off chance that they are all the devil? Maybe. Maybe not! The point is that we shouldn't be making these decisions lightly, and we shouldn't be so damn sure of ourselves. Is that so wrong??
Everything else aside, unsubscribing because of one writer's opinion is unfair to the hundreds of writers we employ who regularly write just, you know, normal shit about birds. Why do you want to punish them? Consider these other writers, who would be so, so sad if you cancelled your subscription, before you go through with it. In the meantime, we will not be budging from our position that birds are possibly the root of all evil.
In summation, please stop canceling your subscriptions. And also, please don't ask us to not publish even more stories about birds being the devil. We have so, so many more and we worked very hard on them.
Thank you,
The Editor.
Max Knoblauch is the Assistant Humor Editor in the NYC office. He is a journalist, comedian and illustrator. More humor and art by Max can be found on his website.Follow him @MaxKnoblauch
