This is what a free speech crisis on campus actually looks like: A Black scholar being targeted by a coordinated online harassment campaign because of his immensely important work and public voice, and @Stanford just standing by. @hakeemjefferson deserves so much better.
https://twitter.com/hakeemjefferson/status/1457090375160524801
Allow me to add something personal: I received some pretty disturbing online abuse this week - someone fantasizing about “silencing” me, and someone else gleefully suggesting “the Khashoggi method.” Stuff of that quality is rare for me - but it certainly is draining.
I’m only mentioning it because I know the abuse I’m getting is absolutely nothing, either in kind or in quantity, compared to what others who are not shielded by the fact that they are white men have to deal with on a regular basis, just because they insist on not being silenced.
The idea that anyone would have to go through what @hakeemjefferson is facing now without even getting the support of the institution that pretends to stand for precisely the values that animate Hakeem Jefferson’s work, for defending American democracy, is terrifying.
Democracy depends on people feeling safe in the public square. If they don’t, because it’s ruled by abuse, intimidation, and threats of violence, they won’t be able to participate as citizens. It’s what the Trumpists want: Abolish democracy through coercion and harassment.
A university should understand the responsibility that falls upon all (small-d) democratic forces to defend the public square against such abuse, and defend their own for fighting the good fight. So, @Stanford, do better.
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