Read on Twitter
I& #39;m deeply disturbed by the (recently promulgated) idea that academic publishing is a game and that just knowing how to play it is somehow part of the path to success. This idea is damaging to science & especially to a science in which we want diverse voices 1/?
represented. Here& #39;s a story--an interesting analogy. Years ago I lived in Texas. I had to go to the DMV which is a dreadful, of course, in any case. This time, there was a huge line of people waiting. As the wait progressed, it was clear that the 2 women 2/?
working the counter were of two types: The nice one and the mean one. The nice lady was processing folks& #39; business quickly and kindly. The mean lady was giving folks guff for everything. She was going over papers with a fine tooth comb and rejecting people 3/?
right and left, even after the long wait. I had my required documents in hand. I kept checking & rechecking to be sure that I had what I needed. It was clear that everyone in line was mentally counting to keep track of whether or not they were going to face 4/?
the mean lady. We were making eye contact with each other with the same faces saying, "I hope I get the nice lady." As my turn approached, it was clear I was destined to face the mean lady. 5/?
I approached the desk with my heart in my throat. Please mean lady, I& #39;ve been in this line for hours. Give me a break. I handed her all my papers and held my breath. She glanced at the papers--barely glanced at them--and then stamped everything and announced "You& #39;re fine." 6/?
& she handed me what I had come for. She must have noticed the utter shock on my face. She smiled at me and winked. "You& #39;re fine," she said again. I was stunned. I started walking out in disbelief, not understanding what had just happened. 7/?
As I got to the door, I looked back one more time at the long line, the nice lady, & the mean lady. Suddenly, I saw the situation differently. The people in line were all Black and Brown. The nice lady wasn& #39;t the nice lady. She was the Black lady. The mean lady wasn& #39;t the 8/?
mean lady, she was the white lady. I was a white lady. I wish I could say I yelled something super cutting and the exact right thing at that moment. I didn& #39;t. Instead, my eyes welled up and my cheeks turned red and hot. Crying, I just ran out. 9/?
I was so disgusted that this woman, this racist woman, thought I was a member of her group, that we were on the same team. I thought I might vomit. I wish I had done something but I didn& #39;t. What has this to do with academic publishing? 10/?
When people treat this situation as a game and play the game for any advantage, gate keepers become nice ladies and mean ladies. Fair, equal, and appropriate treatment should not rely on what group one belongs to or what secret rules one knows about. 11/?
I have started to think that as long as Reviewers 2 are out there trashing everything, they maintain a system they can view as fair, "I trash everyone, equally". But then actual quality can& #39;t determine what gets published. Other things must. 12/?
Things like the mean ladies and nice ladies who stand at the gate. 13/13.
