It's interesting to note that many public intellectuals were publicly shamed for their opinions, and it was later pretty much reconsidered. Two examples come to

It's interesting to note that many public intellectuals were publicly shamed for their opinions, and it was later pretty much reconsidered. Two examples come to my mind, Noam Chomsky and Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. Also interestingly these two guys have very strongly opposed most sorts of elitism, while the phrase "herd mentality" is often used by elitists to justify their beliefs.