The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
"An Elite Progressive LISTSERV Melts Down Over a Bogus Racism Charge"
An interesting article by Jonathan Chait (New York Magazine):
On May 28, progressive election data analyst David Shor tweeted about a new paper by Princeton professor Omar Wasow, showing that peaceful civil-rights protests moved public opinion toward protesters while violent protests had the opposite effect. The tweet violated a taboo in some left-wing quarters against criticizing violent protest and led within days to his firing.
What happened after that was even more bizarre. On June 11, I wrote an article briefly describing Shor's tweet and firing. Four days later, "Progressphiles," a LISTSERV for left-of-center data analysts, kicked Shor off. In a message to the group, the moderators described his tweet as "racist" and further accused him of having "encouraged harassment" of another member of the list: …