Well, I think the issue with just saying these people are left wing can elide problems of people who are ostensibly left wing but they still are racist or sexist. Many historians I know that have exhibited very bad behaviour identify as left wing.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip @NiallOSuill
Stories from women and BAME people at Oxford and interactions with medievalists who work there put a lot of things into perspective.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
Absolutely agree. And of course I'm the sort of person (straight white guy) who tends not be aware of these abusive cases unless they gain a huge level of notoriety, so it's a view from a privileged position.
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Replying to @NiallOSuill @AdmiralHip
The other problem with Ox is that it's virtually impossible to avoid dealing with much of the elitist/racist/sexist bullshirt because of the decentralised, college-centric nature - it's impossible to escape it even if you're in a great faculty/research group etc.
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Replying to @NiallOSuill
Yeah, everything is super secretive as well. All kept under wraps.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
This. I'm not in any whisper networks (why would I be?) so I only know about things if there's a public accusation (v. hard for victims to do) or if they're so notorious it's common knowledge (a certain Old English prof at Ox, for example)
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Replying to @NiallOSuill
Exactly this. It's hard to bring people into the loop as well, because you need to vet them and make sure they won't betray trust in any way.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
Yep, and there's a cost-benefit analysis there too. There's not much benefit to me being in the loop (I'm unlikely to be targeted) but a lot of risk (I could be a two-faced abuser, b/c most of them look and act like me in public). It's this tension that abusers take advantage of.
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Replying to @NiallOSuill
Yeah, and it's very frustrating. It is a massive risk to talk about abusers publicly. Not to mention that universities actively try to stop it from being talked about in the public.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
Yep, which brings you back around to institutional power/inertia again. Esp. in more conciliar, less top-down orgs like Ox, even one or two bad actors can frustrate real change advocated by a majority of faculty for years (and it's never just 1 or 2...)
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Yeah, it gets caught up with legal issues and NDAs. Very frustrating.
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Replying to @AdmiralHip
Not even just that - you can kill initiatives by committee and review as well, framed as 'taking our time' or 'being thorough'. Rhodes statue at Oriel has lasted this long because of that kind of approach (which is much cheaper/easier than lawyers)
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Replying to @NiallOSuill
Yes very true. A lot of institutions hide behind initiatives and committees because ostensibly it looks like progress but really it’s just blocking anything from happening.
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