Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism

by Sarah Wynn-Williams

older, white, and a Harvard graduate. Facebook’s leaders want someone just like them. The ultimate trump card is if they’re friends with Joel, Elliot, Marne, Sheryl, or especially Mark. A few years ago, one of the Republicans in the DC office—an old Capitol Hill veteran with a dry sense of humor—sat me down to explain. “Sarah, you know your boss Joel. He’s a Jew who went to Harvard.” “Yes,” I said uneasily, worried that we’re drifting into some anti-Semitic conversation I don’t want to be part of. “And his boss.” “Elliot.” “Yes—a Jew who went to Harvard; and his boss … a Jew who went to Harvard. And her boss…” “A Jew who dropped out of Harvard?” I venture. “You’re catching on,” he said. “So you see, one of these things is not like the other.” “You mean me?”