[fighting]
There have always been angry mobs
But now there’s a new kind: Online mobs.
They can be vicious too.
Economics is complicated.
One such mob recently came for Harald Uhlig,
head of a top economics journal.
The mob attacked Uhlig,
says writer Robby Soave, because
He thinks "Defund the police" is an unhelpful slogan.
Uhlig Had posted this tweet, which said:
Too bad, Black Lives Matter just torpedoed itself,
with its support of defund the police.”
You’d think that would be fine,
for a public intellectual
to weigh in on that issue in that way,
there was nothing racist or discriminatory
in how he said it.
And yet some of the biggest names in
the profession have called for him to lose this position.
Hundreds signed a petition demanding that.
Because he has some
different views from the protesters,
he must be a racist.
Uhlig was placed on leave from the journal he ran.
The mob even attacks its fellow Democrats.
This analyst at a Democratic polling firm
tweeted about a study that concluded
riots reduce the share of Democratic votes.
I would think the rioting does hurt their cause.
That sort of behavior makes people fearful.
So all this young man does is tweet
an article that's obviously true, and he gets fired?
Activists, who don't want there to be any criticism,
tag the employer and said like,
"Come get your boy."
Within days,
this public polling firm guy was let go from the position.
"Come get your boy," it sounds creepy.
There's a cruel streak in activism that says,
"If you disagree with me,
not only should you have no right to speak,
but you're harming me.
You're making me unsafe."
Oh my holy Katai!
A major league soccer team fired
a player after his wife made racist posts.
The editor of Bon Appetit resigned
because one Halloween, 16 years ago,
he dressed like this.
Staff members called this “deeply offensive.”
Why are they winning?
Their argument is ridiculous.
Because people are afraid to challenge them.
It just takes one employee, at one company,
to say, "Well, here's the law that protects my rights
to feel safe and comfortable in this workplace.
If you're not making me feel safe and comfortable,
I'm going to get you in trouble. I might even sue you."
And these cowardly corporations give in, fire the people.
You protect yourself from some risks,
from some liability,
if you just give the loudest voice in the room,
the squeakiest wheel, exactly what they want.
[thud]
At Crossfit, the fitness company,
CEO Greg Glassman was asked
why he hadn’t issued a statement about George Floyd.
He answered, why should we mourn George Floyd,
other than it’s the white thing to do?
Within a week, he was gone from the company.
Yes, a few CEOs have lost their jobs,
but they have the money,
by and large, they have the power.
We white people have the power.
Well of course, white people historically
have benefited tremendously from their race.
So why should we listen to people like you?
You're a white guy who grew up in the suburbs.
Yes, I have a tremendous amount of privilege.
I lived a very lucky life.
I think I should be able to point out the inconsistencies
Growing accusations of transphobia.
The “cancel culture” has moved beyond the US.
J.K. Rowling has been criticized recently
for her comments about transgender identity.
In England, after this woman was fired for saying
"merely identifying as a woman
does not make a person a woman."
Anything you couldn’t explain?
Harry Potter author Rowling defended her, tweeting,
“force women out of their jobs for stating sex is real?"
Outrage with a series of controversial tweets.
That made Rowling a target.
J.K. Rowling, silencio you cruel rich dick.
But Rowling didn’t back down.
She said “it isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
Then, she mocked a charity for using the phrase
“people who menstruate” instead of women.
She tweeted:
I‘m sure there used to be a word for those people.
Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
People called her tweets
Cruel and inaccurate
Some staff at her publisher called her transphobic
and refused to work on her next book.
Don’t give J.K. Rowling any of your money,
stop buying her books.
But Rowling is the rare person popular enough
to be able to resist the mob.
Her publisher stood up for her saying
“Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of publishing.”
That’s how all these cases should be handled.
And finally one other piece of good news.
Economics professor Harald Uhlig
Who lost his post after he was smeared
by people like Paul Krugman
While we worked on this video,
The University of Chicago announced
that it had investigated and there was
“no basis” for taking his job.
Harald Uhlig has his editorship back.
[bells]
The solution is to challenge these people.
We just have to speak up.
[swoosh]
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