Conor Renier Friedersdorf is an American journalist and a staff writer at ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', known for his civil libertarian perspectives.

Early life and career

He attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

as an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

, and attended the

journalism school A journalism school is a school or department, usually part of an established university, where journalists are trained. 'J-School' is an increasingly used term for a journalism department at a school or college. Journalists in most parts of the ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

. After graduating from college, Friedersdorf worked for the '' Inland Valley Daily Bulletin''. He began writing for ''The Atlantic'' in November 2009. He was an intern for ''The Daily Dish'' blog, and in 2010 was hired as Senior Editor and "underblogger" to Andrew Sullivan. Friedersdorf compiles on a regular basis ''The Best of Journalism'' list, which is a curated list of news articles and investigative report, that he disseminates through a newsletter.

Views

In an interview with journalist Matt Lewis, Friedersdorf stated that he has right-leaning views but that he does not consider himself to be a doctrinal

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

or a member of the conservative movement. Writing for ''The Atlantic'', Friedersdorf laid out his argument for why he refused to vote for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

in 2012 and was supporting

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, author, and politician. He served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for Presid ...

in his bid for president as the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

candidate. Friedersdorf wrote an article calling for the abolition of

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

, and protecting the right to protest on the Statue of Liberty. Friedersdorf has praised

Peggy McIntosh } Peggy McIntosh (born November 7, 1934) is an American feminist, anti-racism activist, scholar, speaker, and Senior Research Scientist of the Wellesley Centers for Women. She is the founder of the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum (Se ...

's essay " White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", saying he would encourage its study in college curriculums, but warned that "importing obscure academic concepts into mass conversations about identity makes them much less accessible and more alienating to the vast majority of America".

Personal life

Friedersdorf grew up in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, and currently lives in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

. Two of his grandparents were French

Cajuns The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana '' Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described a ...

References

External links

Conor Friedersdorf
at ''The Atlantic'' *
Conor Friedersdorf
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedersdorf, Conor Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American people of Acadian descent American male journalists American political commentators American political writers The Atlantic (magazine) people New York University alumni Pomona College alumni 21st-century American journalists People from Orange County, California Journalists from California American libertarians