I really believe in public scholarship, and I think a robust academic presence in public discourses is valuable and important — and that’s true even when I disagree with others’ arguments.

but I continue to be concerned about what arguments get space in major media outlets.

I think there‘s many strengths sociologists, for ex, bring to public discourses — things like arguments rooted in strong empirical & theoretical support, a tendency toward structural analysis, a careful attention to complicating attractively intuitive but ultimately facile ideas.

but — & this isn’t just about that NYT op-ed — I am concerned by how some academics seem to be presenting themselves as the reasonable adults in the room, offering up reformist “fixes” w/o engaging very well thought-out proposals fueling this potentially revolutionary moment.

like, I’ve read a couple of pieces recently which have the energy @RSGAT succinctly captures below. and I just wish, among those pieces, there were more robust engagement with why abolition is being called for, how it could work, why reforms aren’t enough. https://twitter.com/rsgat/status/1283090099811622920?s=21 https://twitter.com/rsgat/status/1283090099811622920