And integrity. Its rare that you find ANYBODY nowadays that admits when they were wrong let alone a widely read journalist or blogger. I know some people will say he is just doing what he should have but I reject that notion because its not the norm anymore. He deserves props for having the character to come out weeks later when nobody or not many people are probably even still talking about his post and giving an in depth acknowledgemnt of his own error.
And TNC, I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like I owe you thanks for introducing me to Alexander's poetry. It's not every day that a poet's words are going through my head a couple weeks after I'd read them, but hers are still bouncing around in there, and show no signs of going away.
I'm with you, Muzzyology. Packer is a nuanced and sometimes perceptive writer, but no more so than many, many others and I don't get the hero worship. Especially given some stances he has taken (even if he later backtracks, under pressure).
I sense that he gets cut a lot of slack because he stands under the grand umbrella of the New Yorker. But as someone who has worked inside these august institutions (the NYTimes, etc) I know that what looks good from the outside is often rotten at the core.
Nah. This was a triviality. Packer was an Iraq War supporter, and IIRC, he's still pretty much quick to hop on the bandwagon of whatever war comes by. I rank mass slaughter as higher than disputes over poetry.
Here's a piece no one cared about. Meh, whatever, probably the most enjoyable article I did during my stint at TIME. Premiered a month before I got laid-off. The nail in the coffin? Ya think?
Here's me going after Al. I didn't so much have a problem with him, as I had a problem with media acting like this dude was the go-to guy for everything black.
This was my first real story at time. I was writing for the Business section, a real change of direction for me. At any rate, it's about Wal-Mart's attempts to colonize the inner-city. As much as I enjoyed this piece, I mostly enjoyed going out to Chicago, which is a beautiful, beautiful city.
This a piece I did about the cops just outside our nation capitol, in Prince George's County, a few years back. I wanted to offer a counter to the dumb, conventional wisdom that if you paint your police force black, you could eradicate police brutality. In fact, Prince George's--one of the richest, blackest counties in the country--also had one of the most brutal police force's in the country.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
And integrity. Its rare that you find ANYBODY nowadays that admits when they were wrong let alone a widely read journalist or blogger. I know some people will say he is just doing what he should have but I reject that notion because its not the norm anymore. He deserves props for having the character to come out weeks later when nobody or not many people are probably even still talking about his post and giving an in depth acknowledgemnt of his own error.
Plus he admires Seamus Heaney, who is quite the lad.
That was pretty awesome. Class indeed.
Classy indeed on Packer's part.
And TNC, I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like I owe you thanks for introducing me to Alexander's poetry. It's not every day that a poet's words are going through my head a couple weeks after I'd read them, but hers are still bouncing around in there, and show no signs of going away.
nope, little dissent here
cheering on the invasion of Iraq isn't classy in my book
I'm with you, Muzzyology. Packer is a nuanced and sometimes perceptive writer, but no more so than many, many others and I don't get the hero worship. Especially given some stances he has taken (even if he later backtracks, under pressure).
I sense that he gets cut a lot of slack because he stands under the grand umbrella of the New Yorker. But as someone who has worked inside these august institutions (the NYTimes, etc) I know that what looks good from the outside is often rotten at the core.
Packer was right the first time.
Nah. This was a triviality. Packer was an Iraq War supporter, and IIRC, he's still pretty much quick to hop on the bandwagon of whatever war comes by. I rank mass slaughter as higher than disputes over poetry.