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> even Bret is willing to support the idea that "others will argue that this actually protects academic freedom since diversity statements can be little more th

> even Bret is willing to support the idea that "others will argue that this actually protects academic freedom since diversity statements can be little more than political litmus tests thinly disguised." No, you're wrong. You just took his statement out of context. He did not say he supports it; he only acknowledged the existence of that view. Specifically, his full statement was: > "Controversy there is likely to be more complex, > with some seeing this as a political infringement on the traditional prerogative whereby departments chose their members and thus an infringement on academic freedom; > alternately others will argue that this actually protects academic freedom since diversity statements can be little more than political litmus tests thinly disguised." Acknowledging opposing views is one of the key things you learn in academic and argumentative writing. It is not the same thing as support. I think it's pretty disingenuous that you decided to remove the word "alternatively" in this accusation.

roenxi 4y ago
> Acknowledging opposing views is one of the key things you learn in academic and argumentative writing That is the thing, isn't it? It isn't normal for Bret to use those skills when talking politics. In the 2016 era it would be much more in the vein to refuse to debate racism and condemn inequitable treatment. Possibly with a comparison to the fall of the golden age of the Islamists or the collapse of Rome as their tolerance for internal minorities wavered or something. This represents a bit of a move in how I've seen Bret approaches culture war topics. He's supporting the view instead of denigrating it. He must be quite worried about the issue to take this position. EDIT I typed up a response to a now-deleted comment. I'll include it here: He literally says "For what it is worth, my own view is that too many universities use DEI paperwork as a lame replacement for the actual work of trying to reach a wider range of students". We've got an academic posting on his blog that "others" think this is a political litmus test of, effectively, academics. Does he believe this conspiracy theory? Well it is complicated! He's just telling you what "others" think. He does think DEI is lame. He's doing a lot of work here to get these uncited "other" ideas into the conversation. He is in the perfect position to call bullshit if this view was false, because these are allegedly a political litmus tests targeted at his community. The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be political loyalty tests is a wildly supportive position for him given his usual approach to politics.
- deleted 4y ago
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  - roenxi 4y ago
    He literally says "For what it is worth, my own view is that too many universities use DEI paperwork as a lame replacement for the actual work of trying to reach a wider range of students" We've got an academic posting on his blog that "others" think this is a political litmus test of, effectively, academics. Does he believe this conspiracy theory? Well it is complicated! He's just telling you what "others" think. He does think DEI is lame. He's doing a lot of work here to get these uncited "other" ideas into the conversation. He is in the perfect position to call bullshit if this view was false, because these are political litmus tests targeted at his community. What he should be saying is that "I'm an academic with X years experience and this just isn't how it works! These statements are an important plank in promoting minorities!". The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be diversity statements is a wild position for him given his usual approach to politics.
- password11 4y ago
  > This represents a bit of a move in how I've seen Bret approaches culture war topics. He's supporting the view instead of denigrating it. He must be quite worried about the issue to take this position I agree that even acknowledging that there's criticism of these initiatives (like mandatory DEI statements) is seen as an extreme reaction, especially in academia. Don't know anything about Bret in particular, but I liked his position, was pretty well rounded. (FWIW, I wholeheartedly support the goals of DEI. But I think I just broke the taboo within DEI of acknowledging that it's taboo to acknowledge that some people have opposing viewpoints.)
- password11 4y ago
  > The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be political loyalty tests is a wildly supportive position for him given his usual approach to politics. Sorry I deleted the original comment. Interesting take. A simpler explanation is he's changed his mind. Or maybe he thinks that the hype for his original view has ended; he predicts that the opposition is gaining more support within the state government, the academic community, and the people; and he therefore is positioning himself closer to the opposition where there will be more future support.

roenxi 4y ago

> Acknowledging opposing views is one of the key things you learn in academic and argumentative writing That is the thing, isn't it? It isn't normal for Bret to use those skills when talking politics. In the 2016 era it would be much more in the vein to refuse to debate racism and condemn inequitable treatment. Possibly with a comparison to the fall of the golden age of the Islamists or the collapse of Rome as their tolerance for internal minorities wavered or something. This represents a bit of a move in how I've seen Bret approaches culture war topics. He's supporting the view instead of denigrating it. He must be quite worried about the issue to take this position. EDIT I typed up a response to a now-deleted comment. I'll include it here: He literally says "For what it is worth, my own view is that too many universities use DEI paperwork as a lame replacement for the actual work of trying to reach a wider range of students". We've got an academic posting on his blog that "others" think this is a political litmus test of, effectively, academics. Does he believe this conspiracy theory? Well it is complicated! He's just telling you what "others" think. He does think DEI is lame. He's doing a lot of work here to get these uncited "other" ideas into the conversation. He is in the perfect position to call bullshit if this view was false, because these are allegedly a political litmus tests targeted at his community. The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be political loyalty tests is a wildly supportive position for him given his usual approach to politics.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
- roenxi 4y ago
  He literally says "For what it is worth, my own view is that too many universities use DEI paperwork as a lame replacement for the actual work of trying to reach a wider range of students" We've got an academic posting on his blog that "others" think this is a political litmus test of, effectively, academics. Does he believe this conspiracy theory? Well it is complicated! He's just telling you what "others" think. He does think DEI is lame. He's doing a lot of work here to get these uncited "other" ideas into the conversation. He is in the perfect position to call bullshit if this view was false, because these are political litmus tests targeted at his community. What he should be saying is that "I'm an academic with X years experience and this just isn't how it works! These statements are an important plank in promoting minorities!". The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be diversity statements is a wild position for him given his usual approach to politics.
password11 4y ago
> This represents a bit of a move in how I've seen Bret approaches culture war topics. He's supporting the view instead of denigrating it. He must be quite worried about the issue to take this position I agree that even acknowledging that there's criticism of these initiatives (like mandatory DEI statements) is seen as an extreme reaction, especially in academia. Don't know anything about Bret in particular, but I liked his position, was pretty well rounded. (FWIW, I wholeheartedly support the goals of DEI. But I think I just broke the taboo within DEI of acknowledging that it's taboo to acknowledge that some people have opposing viewpoints.)
password11 4y ago
> The fact that he is putting that the ideas are lame and amplifying the idea that they might be political loyalty tests is a wildly supportive position for him given his usual approach to politics. Sorry I deleted the original comment. Interesting take. A simpler explanation is he's changed his mind. Or maybe he thinks that the hype for his original view has ended; he predicts that the opposition is gaining more support within the state government, the academic community, and the people; and he therefore is positioning himself closer to the opposition where there will be more future support.