Robinson’s critique (nested in a longer essay) argues: “It’s bad research, by the way, because what it does is single out the political effect of riots in a way that allows people to blame ‘inner-city rioters’ and ignore other causes.” 7/https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/06/has-the-american-left-lost-its-mind …
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NJR: “So it argues that violence fuels negative media coverage which fuels a political backlash that helps Republicans.” 8/
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NJR: ”Which might be true empirically, but as Martin Luther King pointed out, it’s grotesquely immoral to make the conversation about rioters rather than looking at what causes rioters to do what they do. Yes, one way to frame the facts is ’riots help Republicans.‘…” 9/
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The most generous interpretation I can give of Robinson’s critique is that he views my research as shifting attention away from a critical focus on white supremacy to “framing the facts” in a way that “blames” Black activists for resisting white domination. 10/
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Omar Wasow Retweeted Omar Wasow
That line of argument makes at least three important errors: treating prejudice as immovable, ignoring black agency and treating black leaders, thinkers & activists as monolithic. I address those points at length in another thread: 11/https://twitter.com/owasow/status/1271132989364281346?s=20 …
Omar Wasow added,
Omar Wasow @owasowMy paper on political consequences of 1960s protests has received a lot of attention recently. I'm very grateful for the interest
and, when possible, want to respond to some of the thoughtful critiques. 1/
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/agenda-seeding-how-1960s-black-protests-moved-elites-public-opinion-and-voting/136610C8C040C3D92F041BB2EFC3034C … pic.twitter.com/HYEg3MGkZoShow this thread2 replies 35 retweets 341 likesShow this thread -
Omar Wasow Retweeted Will Lowe
But those aren’t the only failings of Robinson’s argument.
@conjugateprior notes@NathanJRobinson doesn’t seem to “care about ‘the facts’ at all.” 12/https://twitter.com/conjugateprior/status/1272624334486622208 …Omar Wasow added,
Will Lowe @conjugatepriorIf you find yourself writing things like "which might be true empirically, but" or "one way to frame the facts is". Or you feel the need to claim that isolating a causal effect is bad because there are other ones, maybe ask yourself whether you care about 'the facts' at all. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/LrNJ9yX5oaShow this thread5 replies 19 retweets 288 likesShow this thread -
Omar Wasow Retweeted Zeeshan Aleem
And
@ZeeshanAleem notes the risks of an intellectual project that rejects results that do not conform to ”perceived political priorities.” 13/https://twitter.com/ZeeshanAleem/status/1272584558702137347 …Omar Wasow added,
Zeeshan AleemVerified account @ZeeshanAleemI think left intellectual discourse is going to fail in a very, very serious way if it deems research as "bad" because it opens up a line of inquiry that might not jell with perceived political priorities. /1 https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/06/has-the-american-left-lost-its-mind/ … pic.twitter.com/2mGa8nnmo3Show this thread1 reply 21 retweets 269 likesShow this thread -
I agree with those points but also want to raise an additional issue about how my training in African American studies contributes to our different interpretations of this history and evidence. 14/
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My research centers Black people who complicate his story, who engage in robust debates, who consider evidence that contradicts his worldview. To folks like Robinson, Black people appear to be useful only inasmuch as they serve him well. 15/
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To critique their work, you have to actually read it. Did you read it? I keep asking because you mischaracterize it so badly that if the answer is yes, that you read it, I'm going to have to wonder if you can understand what you read. I'd suggest reading it and apologizing.
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