Dear Bari, I just finished listening to the MK podcast and was inspired by your call to "speak out now." I am also, without a doubt, one of those people you mentioned that is hiding in the "political closet." I have always considered myself progressive, but today I no longer feel that this label accurately represents my values and policy…
Dear Bari, I just finished listening to the MK podcast and was inspired by your call to "speak out now." I am also, without a doubt, one of those people you mentioned that is hiding in the "political closet." I have always considered myself progressive, but today I no longer feel that this label accurately represents my values and policy positions. Like you, I suppose I'm left on some issues and right on others, but mostly I feel politically homeless and it is incredibly isolating (until now, with this newsletter :)). Furthermore, and more to the point of being in the closet, I am a young(ish) professor of Political Science at a small, private university and literally this last week did not speak out at all regarding the establishment of an "Ethnic Studies" program. Although I want to give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt that this program will not go down the path of CRT and an ideologically-based pedagogy, I am also afraid of the Ibram Kendi readings and overall agenda being set. And, Bari, I didn't say a thing. I sat there on Zoom and nodded along feeling pressured by all of the loud celebrations of how this is necessary and "right" ... I didn't bring up any concern, and I convinced myself that it was inevitable, so why sacrifice my reputation ... why debate colleagues and friends ... that this was not worth falling on my sword. And now, after listening to your brilliant conversation with MK, I am actually quite upset with myself. All that to say, although I know that it's too late to speak out now on this particular incident, I am truly inspired by you and this newsletter to be braver, to step out of the closet (or at least open the door), and to stand up for critical thinking, objectivity, liberalism, and the goodness of America.
Well said. I feel exactly The same way! If you’re in CA, you can get involved with a couple of different orgs fighting out proposed Ethnic Curriculum amendment
I get it. I've been in a similar, though less perilous a position: should I stay mum, or should I state an opinion?
You will be an army of one. I at least had some supporters, or at least folks who would not openly oppose what I did. I hope you can find something in my approach that might help you.
When I faced my problem, I was terrified. My departmental chairman was abusing his power — and he had a lot of power to abuse. My choice was to stay quiet and watch a person, a friend and colleague, get screwed, or talk to the dean and risk my (untenured) career.
I thought long and hard about what I wanted to have happen. It was unavailing.
Then inspiration struck: what did I NOT want to happen?
And what I did NOT want to happen was for me to keep mum and, at some future point after my friend had been damaged, to run into my dean at a cocktail party and tell him that I'd seen the chairman's nastiness "back then," only to have my dean say: "Well, why didn't you tell me when I could have done something?"
So I made an appointment and talked to him. I didn't ever want him to say: "I didn't know." I wanted the monkey on his back. And I wanted him to know that we both knew it.
My situation was different from yours in the sense that I was not alone in my department, though none supported me publicly.
You face a very different situation. Very few will publicly support you, though many will privately. But many may be hostile towards you.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Calmly but assertively. "Calm" is hard to be when you are the object of ugly characterizations and vitriol. But calmness and reaonableness it must be.
And we must be informed. We must have facts at our disposal, and we must know how to use them. We must be able to identify not just factual errors we need to avoid making, but reasoning that would defeat our purpose.
I've found it's useful to think in terms of double standards: are they applying the standard to their supporters that they're holding us to? Am I guilty of that? (What were they saying a week, a month, a year ago? What was I saying then?)
We must not — and we must not allow them — to conflate "message" with "messenger." The message is what's important, not the source.
Actually, I think that sometimes it's ok to get emotional. We can't expect of ourselves to always be an audit in the room, reasoning with a dangerous emotional teenager. :)
Dear Bari, I just finished listening to the MK podcast and was inspired by your call to "speak out now." I am also, without a doubt, one of those people you mentioned that is hiding in the "political closet." I have always considered myself progressive, but today I no longer feel that this label accurately represents my values and policy positions. Like you, I suppose I'm left on some issues and right on others, but mostly I feel politically homeless and it is incredibly isolating (until now, with this newsletter :)). Furthermore, and more to the point of being in the closet, I am a young(ish) professor of Political Science at a small, private university and literally this last week did not speak out at all regarding the establishment of an "Ethnic Studies" program. Although I want to give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt that this program will not go down the path of CRT and an ideologically-based pedagogy, I am also afraid of the Ibram Kendi readings and overall agenda being set. And, Bari, I didn't say a thing. I sat there on Zoom and nodded along feeling pressured by all of the loud celebrations of how this is necessary and "right" ... I didn't bring up any concern, and I convinced myself that it was inevitable, so why sacrifice my reputation ... why debate colleagues and friends ... that this was not worth falling on my sword. And now, after listening to your brilliant conversation with MK, I am actually quite upset with myself. All that to say, although I know that it's too late to speak out now on this particular incident, I am truly inspired by you and this newsletter to be braver, to step out of the closet (or at least open the door), and to stand up for critical thinking, objectivity, liberalism, and the goodness of America.
Well said. I feel exactly The same way! If you’re in CA, you can get involved with a couple of different orgs fighting out proposed Ethnic Curriculum amendment
I get it. I've been in a similar, though less perilous a position: should I stay mum, or should I state an opinion?
You will be an army of one. I at least had some supporters, or at least folks who would not openly oppose what I did. I hope you can find something in my approach that might help you.
When I faced my problem, I was terrified. My departmental chairman was abusing his power — and he had a lot of power to abuse. My choice was to stay quiet and watch a person, a friend and colleague, get screwed, or talk to the dean and risk my (untenured) career.
I thought long and hard about what I wanted to have happen. It was unavailing.
Then inspiration struck: what did I NOT want to happen?
And what I did NOT want to happen was for me to keep mum and, at some future point after my friend had been damaged, to run into my dean at a cocktail party and tell him that I'd seen the chairman's nastiness "back then," only to have my dean say: "Well, why didn't you tell me when I could have done something?"
So I made an appointment and talked to him. I didn't ever want him to say: "I didn't know." I wanted the monkey on his back. And I wanted him to know that we both knew it.
My situation was different from yours in the sense that I was not alone in my department, though none supported me publicly.
You face a very different situation. Very few will publicly support you, though many will privately. But many may be hostile towards you.
I salute your bravery and I wish you well.
We must speak up, that's the only way to try and save this country.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Calmly but assertively. "Calm" is hard to be when you are the object of ugly characterizations and vitriol. But calmness and reaonableness it must be.
And we must be informed. We must have facts at our disposal, and we must know how to use them. We must be able to identify not just factual errors we need to avoid making, but reasoning that would defeat our purpose.
I've found it's useful to think in terms of double standards: are they applying the standard to their supporters that they're holding us to? Am I guilty of that? (What were they saying a week, a month, a year ago? What was I saying then?)
We must not — and we must not allow them — to conflate "message" with "messenger." The message is what's important, not the source.
JFWIW.
Actually, I think that sometimes it's ok to get emotional. We can't expect of ourselves to always be an audit in the room, reasoning with a dangerous emotional teenager. :)
Just wanted to show support. Speaking up is not easy, but it's absolutely necessary , and it is quite liberating.
Yes. And it can be a source of pride and warmth in later years. Nobody can ever take away from you an act of true courage.