McArdle in microcosm

Meg's post on the Jena 6 (so ably dissected by clem and M.Bouffant below) is a perfect example of why she has no business blogging for the Atlantic, or indeed any organization that wishes to protect its good name. It's not her blithe indifference to the injustice of the situation (yeah, the white kids who stomped some of these black kids at a party got probation instead of being charged as adults, but whaddaya gonna do?), nor is it her complete lack of interest in actually trying to put forth a solution she would consider fair (I don't know what the answer is, but those black kids should do time). No, it's her eager willingness to pontificate on a hot-button current event far outside her alleged area of expertise . . . without first having the goddamned common courtesy to do even a modicum of research into the event itself.

This kind of behavior is appalling. It's lazier than Glenn Reynolds, which is saying a lot. And it is far, far below the standards of The Atlantic (or at least, below the standards they seem to want everyone to think they have).

Fire Megan McArdle.