They’re all part of the American cultural establishment. You don’t get to sign a letter like that unless you’re a member of the club. Don’t believe me? Write Harper’s asking to be added to the list of signatories on the original on-line post, in alphabetical order with the others.
The privilege that they and others in their group can be arseholes in public without losing their platforms or facing real consequences, even if they’re calling for second-class citizenship or repudiating the existence of certain groups or espousing fascist and bigoted doctrine. As we’ve seen, a lot of people outside the cultural establishment are getting tired of that garbage, so the signatories are worried.
I can go into more detail, but these quotes from two of my comments in the earlier topic will do the job:
America’s cultural elite, at least as represented by the names still on this list, needs to get over its privilege and realise that 99% of Americans have never had a chance to participate in open debate in reputable public forums – frequently because they’ve been barred from them by gatekeepers like the signatories. They might also want to re-acquaint themselves with Popper’s Paradox.
The clubby attitude expressed by the piece not only preserves the “glass floor” for the serial screw-ups and liars they’ve invested themselves in (as prelude to welcoming into the elite), but also enables the presence and tolerance of “missing stairs” in elite circles. I really have to wonder how many of the signatories – including those I admire – at one time or another socialised with the likes of Harvey Weinstein or Jeffrey Epstein, knowing full well about the open secrets of their “quirks” or “pecadilloes” but choosing to laugh it off as “Harvey being Harvey” or “Jeffrey being Jeffrey”. There is deep, deep dysfunction represented by this open letter.
I’d expect better of him and anyone else who signed a brief (2-minute read) but provocative letter without considering context or inquiring as to exactly who else is signing this letter.
Well, you know how it is, when someone is saying that you have no right to exist or you don’t deserve equal rights or that you’re less intelligent due to an immutable characteristic, you tend to take it personally.
Or perhaps you don’t know how it is.
Which the signatories see as members of the out-group using new media platforms to critique them. Critiques of their peers, you see, are only the province of the in-group.
