Lessons of the Pinker Affair: The Problem with the Academy is False Beliefs, Not Intolerance
Earlier this summer, over 600 signatories signed an open letter to the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), denouncing Steven Pinker for “speaking over genuine grievances and downplaying injustices, frequently by misrepresenting facts, and at the exact moments when Black and Brown people are mobilizing against systemic racism and for crucial changes.” I tweeted a link to the letter, and was glad to see my tweet gain traction as people were able to see the absurdity of the charges for themselves. They're coming for Steven Pinker for his "public support for David Brooks," not condemning Bernie Goetz enough, denying an incel shooting as evidence of the patriarchy, and "co-opting" the work of a black scholar, which I think means citing him. https://t.co/7wb3JqJkb1 pic.twitter.com/9mYpkyM2DG — Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) July 3, 2020 I had largely forgotten this episode, when in early September I received a Google Scholar alert saying that my name had appeared in an academic article. Instead of being a reference to an academic paper I had written, as I expected, it was a citation to …