Sally Quinn has been writing a column called “The Party” for the Washington Post for some time, but she’s been kicked off the print version due to certain indiscretions. Quinn thought it would be a good idea to air her family’s dirty laundry in the newspaper, and use her column as a platform to explain away what looks like a dirty trick she played on her step-granddaughter. The article is terribly boring, and I don’t have any idea why your average reader would care one whit about her private drama, but Sally seemed to think it was worth throwing up. I really can’t believe the editors let this one get through. Maybe everyone involved was drunk.
Here’s an excerpt from the column:
Our son Quinn Bradlee is marrying Pary Williamson in Washington on April 10. My husband’s granddaughter Greta Bradlee is getting married the same day in California. In the past few days there have been a spate of negative stories, both online and in print, about the “dueling weddings.” It’s been hurtful to all four of these wonderful young people. This “dueling” characterization couldn’t be further from the truth.
The unfortunate result of the dates being the same was an inadvertent mistake on my part. My error had nothing to do with the two couples who will wed that day.
[...]
Quinn and Pary decided on Oct. 10, 2010, as their wedding date. Over Christmas, Greta’s mother and I came to an understanding that, because of existing tensions, it would be best for all if none of us attended Greta’s wedding. Then, in mid-January, we were thrilled to learn that Pary is pregnant, due Sept. 21, and decided to move up the date as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, our church does not do weddings during Lent or Easter. The only date we could arrive on when both church and minister were available was April 10, and the next wasn’t until after Memorial Day.
This is in a national newspaper? I’m shaking my head. This belongs on a blog that nobody reads, but is being projected far and wide.
When we talk about the feminization of certain professions, this is what we mean. This kind of irrelevant fluff is as responsible for killing major publications off as the internet. I’ve never had much pity for newspapers’ failures, but every time I see this junk I actually feel optimistic about their demise. Could it be any worse?
Naturally, the others involved expressed outrage, and Quinn was disciplined by being demoted to online only. Why didn’t they just fire her outright? Any man who made such a boner would get the axe for sure.
In the distant past, it was commonly thought that women were naturally more modest than men, and had more of a sense of shame. However, I can’t think of one single period in the history of the entire world when men behaved with such shameless indiscretion and were so eager to air the personal in public as our women are today.
Just goes to show how wrong we were about women.
