Thread by @JuliusGoat

My suggestions: Stop using "viewpoint diversity" to mean "conservatives get to talk more" and recognize that the conservative reaction against academia is mainly driven by a broad *expansion* of diversity in voices, which conservatives categorically oppose.

https://twitter.com/conor64/status/1379530257116491777

There's a reason that conservative framing around diversity boils things down to roughly two sides of "conservative" and "liberal."
It allows them to ignore the fact that we ALREADY have broad diversity, and to frame themselves as the marginalized "side."

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1332301613537652737?s=20

And so: voices of every ethnicity become not a multitude of ethnic voices, but "ethnic studies." And so with every facet of gender studies, and religious studies, and all of THAT get boiled to one side: Liberal.

Against which conservatives posit themselves the whole other side.

So of course the side that wants to be the "normal" side of a binary against a broad spectrum of diverse voices they boil down to a single "side" is going to feel marginalized.

Their framing is anti-diversity. It is *structurally* anti-diversity.

https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1332302245292019712?s=20

The marketplace of ideas gets to reject ideas.

I think conservatives could be capable of bringing thoughtful ideas to a marketplace of ideas that ALREADY supports a broad diversity.

Largely what they've opted for is complaining to have their already-rejected ideas subsidized.

As long as "conservative" remains—by conservatism's own insistence—structurally anti-diverse, any institution committed to diversity of thought must categorically reject it, at a structural level, to preserve diversity of thought.

That's not oppression. It's opposition.

"Why is there so little room for CONSERVATIVE thought when there is so much room for gender studies & queer studies & racial studies & ethnic studies & religious studies &..."

That's called being one voice among many. That's what diversity is. Get used to it. Everyone else has.

"Why is there so little room for CONSERVATIVE thought when there is so much room for gender studies & queer studies & racial studies & ethnic studies & religious studies &..."

The only reason that would be difficult is if conservatism makes no room for any of those things.

Case in point.

When the existence of a broad diversity voices strikes you as nothing more than a series of homogenous attacks, it’s a good indication that your worldview has a framework that is structurally anti-diversity.

https://twitter.com/biglezfanacct/status/1380558755759202306

Conservatives: We want a broad diversity of opinion.

Black people: Good! Here is how society structurally and historically harms us.

LGBTQ people: Here's how it harms us.

Disabled people: Here's our experience.

Conservatives: Um, we meant a broad diversity of OUR opinions.

My feeling on conservative thinking is (to steal a famous quote from Gandhi) that it would be a good idea.