Ten years ago when radical college snowflakes began their careers, many of us wondered just what sort of employees they’d make given their hypersensitivity to criticism and penchant for seeking confrontation over trivial matters.
Meet Washington Post political reporter Felicia Sonmez. When noted WaPo political commentator David Weigel tweeted out a tasteless joke disparaging women, Somnez blitzed him with a series of tweets that had the veteran reporter apologizing in a matter of minutes.
Weigel shared a joke by YouTube host Cam Harless, who said, “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.” Tasteless, yes. Inappropriate? In a workplace, absolutely.
But then, the madcap radical Sonmez attacked the Post for not firing Weigel on the spot. They eventually suspended the reporter without pay for a month
It didn’t end there. Sonmez went on the Twitter warpath, going after any colleague who supported the Post or claimed Somnez overreacted.
The Post editorial staff finally had enough. They fired Sonmez for “insubordination.”
But the infighting continued from there. Another Post reporter, Jose A. Del Real, accused Sonmez of trying to publicly bully Weigel over a mistake for which he had apologized. Sonmez responded in kind: “When women stand up for themselves, some people respond with even more vitriol.”
Sonmez continued to rail against the paper’s leadership from there, with lengthy threads arguing that it had done little to create an inclusive culture or protect reporters from internal and external harassment. The New York Times reported on Thursday that in its termination letter to Sonmez, Post leadership wrote that her conduct amounted to “insubordination, maligning your co-workers online and violating The Post’s standards on workplace collegiality and inclusivity.” POLITICO has not been able to authenticate the letter.
What makes this story significant is that it may mark a turning point in the untrammeled ability of these spoiled, entitled young people to create havoc over meaningless controversies. Simply asking Weigel to delete the offending tweet and apologize would have been more than enough for any reasonable manager or company. It should have been enough for Sonmez.
But Sonmez has made a huge deal about being a “MeToo survivor.” And, like any other snowflake, she needs special treatment or she’ll collapse in a heap of Jello, unable to move or speak.
I stand by what I wrote in that email. In 2018, I was punished after I told my editors I needed to take a walk around the block after reading a difficult story.
Other colleagues have been punished for their trauma far more recently, but their stories aren’t mine to tell. 1/ https://t.co/uLXvL2fVmA
— Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) June 9, 2022
The world is full of ugliness, tragedy, mean-spiritedness, and hate. If you can’t cover it without falling apart, perhaps the Post should find someone with a little more backbone. Of one thing we can be sure: there are at least 20 young people ready, willing, and eager to cover any story for the Washington Post without needing a “walk around the block” and who are almost certainly a damn sight more talented than Felicia Sonmez. There is nothing special about this woman at all.
She should have realized that before mouthing off to her superiors and getting herself fired.
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