The Rise of Thompson: Abigail Fights Back Against the Evil Chad Topaz of Williams College in New WSJ Article

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - I was pleased to see this afternoon that Abigail Thompson hasn't backed down from her courageous comments condemning the new, mandatory, politically biased diversity statement screening tools used at UC Davis and elsewhere to keep the unwoke out of their first teaching jobs. She has a new article in the Wall Street Journal which lays out the basics of her case.

The University’s New Loyalty Oath: Required ‘diversity and inclusion’ statements amount to a political litmus test for hiring.

I suppose what is most surprising about her newest report is that she is surprised that so many of her colleagues are frightened of pushing back, even in the slightest, at the woke activists, including Chad Topaz, who have long been hostile to the concept of freedom of speech and more than willing to destroy the lives and careers of those they define as their enemies. As Thompson writes, she received over 150 emails, overwhelmingly supportive, from top mathematicians in the U.S. and the world. Nevertheless, she reports some horrifying news:

Many emails contained a disturbing theme, typified by this line from one of them: “Some day I, too, hope to speak out on this issue, but it is simply too dangerous at present.” This is a frightening sentiment to hear in academia. If expressing a widespread but controversial view is seen as taking a tremendous personal risk, the university system isn’t healthy. Ideas cannot thrive and mistakes cannot be corrected if people are afraid to speak out.

I cannot help but think that Abigail Thompson is a typical leftist, female professor who is surprised to find that she is now considered the enemy by those who have decided that any gap between the percentage of blacks teaching math at the university level and the percentage of blacks in the general population is evidence of a towering level of systematic injustice, an injustice which might easily be fixed by getting rid of white female professors like herself. Out of her alarm, however, Thompson does a great job of sharing some of the reasons why it is actually counter productive to judge job candidates - largely inexperienced young graduate students - according to the content of their diversity statements. Referring to the folks who sent her emails, she writes:

Some pointed out that the diversity statements tend to be formulaic, with many candidates coached on how to write them, and that the content often emphasizes ideology over accomplishments. Others noted that the statements disadvantage foreign applicants and candidates from low-income groups, who may not have opportunities to participate in voluntary activities that demonstrate a commitment to diversity.

All in all, I'm grateful to see academics like Abigail Thompson taking a brave stand to protect those of us who do not agree with either critical race theory, or identity politics. "To its credit, the UC Davis administration has supported my right to speak," she writes. "I hope that continuing discussion will confirm the vital principle that scholars discuss ideas, they don’t silence them."

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist and a former Williams College professor. He is an occasional contributor at American Thinker, Breitbart, Front Page, PJMedia and WND.