The Specter of Harm in Contemporary Social Justice Activism

Erec SmithThe specter of harm has been a salient presence in the American culture wars, especially when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Harm, loosely defined, has been the raison d ’etre for many social justice demands, and this includes the deemphasis (at best) of academic freedom. Stacy Hawkins of Princeton’s School of Law cites harm as the reason why, sometimes, DEI initiatives trump academic freedom. On its surface, I am inclined to agree with Hawkins; some statements are beyond the pale and should not be tolerated, especially when it has unproductive effects on the workplace. However, who determines who is and isn ’t harmed? Who determines what is harmful? Is being harmed a choice? When is harm less about the actions of a “perpetrator” and more about the inadequacies of the “victim”? What I won ’t pretend is that I have answers to those questions; that is not the point of this essay. Here, I simply want to point out that no one seems to have a good answer to these questions, and until they do, the DEI vs. Academic Freedom debate is in limbo.The focal point of this essay is Hawkin ’s recent article, “Sometimes Diversity Trumps Academic Freedom,” in which she cites the desire to maintain freedom of inquiry and expression as a bane to student well ‐​being. Besides her initial point, an egregious comparison of academic freedom to COVID-19 denial and the apparent detriment to actual lives, H...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs