Notes from the Stanford Academic Freedom Conference: Better keep your sense of humor (link fixed)

Like Coyne, I have observed threats to academic freedom from both left and right sources. But a major difference is that, except in very rare cases, attacks from the right pose no threat to one’s academic livelihood. Just the opposite, in fact: An academic who is targeted by a right-wing vilification campaign can generally count on the support and solidarity of his or her colleagues, who will see conservative enmity as an indicator of progressive doctrinal purity. …

This turn-the-other-cheek approach is certainly a noble one. But as Arcidiacono noted, it’s only viable if you have retained “compassion” for your inquisitors and see them as “redeemable.” In my experience, that sort of Christian attitude is hard to maintain when you are weathering an onslaught of vicious invective from people you once considered your friends. Bhattacharya, similarly, looked quite defeated as he described how friends of more than three decades refused to so much as say hello to him. Stanford professor of medicine John Ioannidis said that even his mother was now facing harassment following a controversy over his research on COVID. It isn’t clear to me that the mob leaders behind these campaigns are “redeemable,” since it often seems a case of them showing their true stripes rather than being momentarily caught up in a well-intentioned progressive movement.

Perhaps the most constructive element of the Stanford Academic Freedom Conference wasn’t any particular panel, debate, or argument; but rather the fact of the conference itself. Humans are social creatures who can easily be made to feel isolated and intimidated if we are ganged up upon by those around us. Attendees at the conference, being in the company of other liberal-minded academics, were able to get a respite from this sort of gaslighting. And I hope that not a few of them came away with the strength required to stick to their principles.

Even when we are no longer among allies, I think, it’s possible to gird oneself simply by retaining one’s sense of humor. Many of today’s attacks on academic freedom are beyond absurd, and seeing one’s own travails through the lens of tragicomedy can provide a useful shield.

[That is not exactly a cheery takeaway. This is quite lengthy, and well worth a full read. — Ed]