Re @Harpers letter: one of the most successful campaigns in recent memory has been convincing folks that the greatest threat to freedom is the possibility of being shamed on Twitter or being in a college classroom where prof. at the front of the room doesn’t share your worldview.

And the fact that this letter is published as real, tangible, and consequential threats to freedom are put in stark relief makes it even clearer how far removed those who lead many of our cultural institutions are from the lived experiences of vulnerable people.

When you don’t have to worry about being shot by police and you’ve got all you need to make it through a global pandemic you can spend your energies worrying that ppl who could once say and do whatever they want must now have their views subjected to a sometimes hostile audience.

I hope most of us will keep focused on the things that matter for those forced to live on the margins of our society. I’m not terribly worried the marketplace of ideas will only be filled with views I agree with expressed by people I respect. I’m active on Twitter, after all.

This is the letter: https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ Signed by several people I respect, fwiw.