Nir Rosen: ‘I was not aware of the right wing attack machine waiting to take me down.’

Well, that didn’t take long. Nir Rosen has begun discussing the “right wing attack machine” in the events that led to his resignation.

Why were you compelled to resign from NYU so quickly? Were you asked to step down?

US academic establishments are already under attack from the right, and my Center at NYU stood to be harmed by the pack of dogs sent to take me down, and I did not want to harm a very important center or the work of people I greatly admire.

Did you receive any form of official university response or reprimand regarding your comments?

I did not receive any official reprimand.

Do you think your tweets have been unfairly attacked or blown out of proportion?

I think certainly my tweets have been unfairly attacked and blown out of proportion. That does not excuse my lapse of judgment for making them in the first place. I stupidly didn’t think that some crude banter would become fodder for thousands and I was not aware of the right wing attack machine waiting to take me down, nor did I realize, even though I was criticizing the celebrity culture in the media, what happens if you mock one of those celebrities, especially if you do it in such an offensive way as I did.

That said, I find the reactions sanctimonious and silly. A few crude jokes on twitter do not make a philosophy, they just make you a momentary jerk. I didn’t mean it and I have a record of eight years of risking my life for justice to prove my values. Had I been a right-wing writer I doubt this would have happened to me. That said, twitter is not a place for nuance and I should stick to long form journalism.

Because you have to be a part of the “right-wing attack machine” to ask whether NYU’s Center on Law and Security would want itself associated with his remarks.

UPDATE: I see Nir Rosen has noticed me, accusing me of using his awful judgment to “further my career.”

Others include Michael Totten, Lee Smith and Jim Geraghty of the National Review, who led the crusade against me. I used a horrible situation as a way to provoke some friends. They are using it to further their careers.

Sure, pal. I’m the one who’s on shaky moral ground here.

Writing about him furthered my career how, precisely? I have the same title as I did three days ago. Same duties. Same paycheck. I’m working at the same desk I was before he even heard the news about Lara Logan. It’s almost as if I had barely heard of Nir Rosen before all this began, was surprised and shocked to come across his Twitter comments, figured he would probably try to delete them and hide what he wrote, had the good sense to hit “print screen” a couple of times, and then put them out for the world to see and for NYU to contemplate what reaction was most appropriate. Nah. The whole thing had to have been part of my career plan.

Then again, if anyone has some position of fame, fortune, and influence that they’re willing to offer as a result of my coverage of this . . . heck, my e-mail is above.