I just read an excellent article in February’s Commentary titled “Haley Barbour’s Close Shave.” The writer, Andrew Ferguson, was the author of an article in the Economist that spiraled out of control in a ludicrous, yet oh so typical, way. The subject of Ferguson’s original article was Haley Barbour, a Mississippi Governor and presidential prospect. He uttered one simple sentence (not racist) that a gossip publication picked up, misconstrued it as racist, said as much online, and there it went… a modern day Salem witch trial. Ferguson’s insights about our “wired-up, blogged-over, twittering world” as well as our culture’s hysteria over anyone perceived to have possibly said something racist are worth noting.
(Commentary articles are only available to online or print subscribers. If you’re thinking of subscribing, be aware that politically the magazine leans heavily to the conservative side.)
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