In email correspondence a few people have asked me: do the public school parents who request anonymity when making widely held, inoffensive critiques of school protocol or curriculum really need it? Are they just being cowards or overstating the consequences of speaking out? 1/x
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What might surprise people who aren't paying close attention? Here's an example from Evanston: an anonymous Instragram account that describes itself as "examines issues of race and equity and builds community," which is not quite how I would put it 4/x
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Say you're an Evanston District 65 parent who wants to reopen K through 8 public schools.pic.twitter.com/SGCZQk2aan
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More than anti-racist I'd call this Instagram site neo-Puritan... and can you really disagree?pic.twitter.com/dz7QSVCSly
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I won't post an image of this next one because it's just a post anonymously labeling someone a white supremacist: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnMHC-Bkbl/
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Now, this account is small. 416 followers. But a k through 8 school district is a small community. And Evanston parents who hadn't talked to one another told me they feel anxious about being smeared anonymously as a white supremacist if they advocate for, say, reopening schools
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Anonymous, ideologically driven smear campaigns are hardly new, but social media does add a new dynamic to them. I understand how and why they silence some people. I also think "be brave, call bullshit" is the only way to sap their pernicious power.
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Anyway, if you ever wonder why public school parents expressing innocuous positions will only do so if given anonymity, this is an example of a reason.
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I think the issues are simpler and more basic. People gotta get their kids into high schools, and into colleges. And teachers and principals can really harm dreams. It's a very delicate dance.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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“Loss of their livelihoods”? I understand that there are a number of journalists/media people that have lost their jobs due to their views or writings but where is the evidence that this is a thing that actually happens to average people in other sectors?
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Does it get more average than a janitor at Smith College? It happens to all manner of normal people.
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