Thread by @HopeRising19

Prof Grant Schofield, Public Health specialist #NZ

It's late in the day but he has just published a piece that will raise the ire of our woke socialist regime

"A Falling Out Of Love Letter To The University"...

#informedconsent #mandates #uncensored

I think I lost my love because we no longer deliver on the most important part of what we promised to do. We are no longer the “critic and conscience of society”.

you might not be aware that we are no longer a place for debate.

We are no longer centrists. We have drifted to the political left, way left. And that leftist view which has many merits, and many downfalls cannot be debated with impunity. We are strong on virtue signaling.

We are strong on stating opinions rather than facts. We are weak on confrontation, but strong on behind the scene bullying.

Wholesale canceling of fundamental rights around vaccine mandates without robust arguments, let alone sufficient evidence CAUSED MORE HARM THAN BENEFIT

We have a culture where debate is refused on principle because someone else doesn’t like your view. You might “trigger” or “offend” someone. And this is true, in robust open societies where debate is raging, then people are triggered and offended all the time.

My point is that a free, fair and open society has a requirement for hard on the facts debates. We need them everywhere , all the time. Science literally can not advance without this. Neither can society.

I’m here to tell you that this is no longer what is happening in our Uni's

The cancel culture and avoiding debate about issues of race, health, fairness, economic policy, and much more is now endemic in university culture. The great irony is that universities may end up inadvertently canceling themselves.

The point is we are laughably out of touch with reality. We have annoyed a solid section of society. I reckon about half of society, maybe more. Everyone from the center to right politically. That’s because we have taken political, not scientific positions.

Last, but MOST IMPORTANT, we must make a comeback as the critic and conscience of society. Academics can and should debate issues of national and international importance and do so in public. How is it thinkable that my field of public health wouldn’t include the public

Cancel culture, lack of respect for others’ arguments and invention of new, previously unknown words like “misinformation” and “disinformation” simply must go.

In my experience this means your opinion is so unworthy that I don’t even have to lower myself to have to debate you on facts. I’m simply right because I’ve labeled you as a harbourer of disinformation. This is dangerous and a sign of non-functioning science.

profgrant.com/2023/04/24/a-f…