Thread by @SwipeWright

1/ We hear a lot about people not speaking up because they don't want to lose their jobs. But we hear less about people staying silent so they don't lose their friends.

I lost a close friend this week after sharing my recent @Quillette essay on Facebook. Conversation below.

2/ This person wasn't the first friend I've lost since deciding to speak about biological sex and the harms of sex denialism in 2018, but he was the closest.

Until now, our friendship was largely defined by our mutual commitment to good-faith engagement on difficult topics.

3/ This doesn't sound like my friend. It's condescending, venomous, and dismissive. Something has happened to him.

What I hate most about "wokeness" is it's ability to cause a mind to favor shaming over discourse, often with no regard for whether the target is friend or family.

4/ While the prospect of losing a job/career can be mentally debilitating, the prospect of losing close friends has always been more difficult for me. This must be true for many.

Old friends are not easily replaced. Losing them is like killing the last of an endangered species.

5/ I rarely post on Facebook for this very reason. But one shouldn't feel the need to hide from friends.

Fortunately I still have several old friends who, while most don't agree with my views, aren't allowing differences of opinion ruin our friendship. Those are the keepers.

Here's the article in question for those interested: quillette.com/2020/06/07/jk-…

The most concerning thing about observing my friend's behavior here is that he teaches philosophy and logic a local community college. I can only imagine what he tells his students.