Do Not Affirm/Do Not Comply

I've updated my profile photo yet again. The statement in the post title is emblazoned on a T-shirt and hoodie obtainable from the Darkhorse podcast "store." The podcast is produced by evolutionary biologists Brett Weinstein and Heather Heying. Former professors at a small liberal arts college, Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, they came to broad public attention in 2017:

In March 2017, Weinstein wrote a letter to Evergreen faculty in which he objected to a suggestion pertaining to the college's decades-old tradition of observing a "Day of Absence", during which ethnic minority students and faculty would voluntarily stay away from campus to highlight their contributions to the college. An administrator had suggested that for that year white participants stay off campus, and were invited to attend an off-campus program on race issues.^[14] Weinstein wrote that the change established a dangerous precedent:

There is a huge difference between a group or coalition deciding to voluntarily absent themselves from a shared space to highlight their vital and underappreciated roles ... and a group encouraging another group to go away. The first is a forceful call to consciousness, which is, of course, crippling to the logic of oppression. The second is a show of force, and an act of oppression in and of itself.

— Bret Weinstein, in a message to event organizer, Rashida Love^[15]

The event organizers responded that participation was voluntary and that the event did not imply that all white people should leave.^[16] The Washington Post reported that racial tensions had been simmering at Evergreen throughout 2017.^[14]

In May 2017, student protests disrupted the campus and called for a number of changes to the college. The protests involved allegations of racism, intolerance and threats; brought national attention to Evergreen; and sparked further debate about free speech on college campuses.^[17] During the protests, protesters entered one of Weinstein's classes (which he had held in a public park) and confronted him, loudly accusing him of racism, demanding that he resign, and forcing the class to break up.^[18][19] Weinstein was advised by the Chief of Campus Police to temporarily stay away from campus for his safety.^[20]

Weinstein and his wife, Heather Heying, brought a lawsuit against the school, alleging that the college's president had not asked campus police to quell student protesters.^[21][22] Weinstein also said that campus police had told him that they could not protect him, and that they had encouraged him to stay off campus. Instead, Weinstein held his biology class that day in a public park.^[23][24] A settlement was reached in September 2017 in which Weinstein and Heying resigned and received $250,000 each, after having sought $3.8 million in damages.^[17]

The intellectual dark web (IDW) is a term used to describe some commentators who oppose identity politics, political correctness, and cancel culture in higher education and the news media within Western countries.^[1][2] The term jokingly compares the controversial ideas expressed by the commentators to illicit goods found on the dark web. Individuals and publications associated with the term reject what they view as authoritarianism and ostracism within mainstream progressive movements in Western countries, especially within universities and the news media. This includes opposition to deplatforming, boycotts, and online shaming, which are seen as threats to freedom of speech. Those who have been labelled as being part of the IDW include both liberals and conservatives. The validity of the term is contested by some it has been applied to because of the range of beliefs it encompasses.

I love that last sentence: "The validity of the term is contested by some it has been applied to because of the range of beliefs it encompasses." So, taxonomy is limited to intellectual destinations as opposed to intellectual processes? Smells of "settled science" and "narratives" to me.

The message on the T-shirt and hoodie is critical to what is going on today. Authoritarianism is seeking to tighten its grip everywhere. It clothes itself in whatever justification it needs — but it is a thing apart. It is the enemy of individual autonomy. It is a denial of the very essence of your being.

To this we must say "no." I will not affirm the lies that we are told to accept, and repeat, as truth; I will not comply with the deprivation of rights endowed upon me by the Creator. The restoration begins with a single transgressive act.

Do not affirm; do not comply.