When the physicists need burner phones, that's when you know America's changed

Trump and his goons hate science and critical thinking. Supposed "gender ideology" or "woke mind-virus" are just dumb pretexts given to suppress anyone who would dare criticize them.

> Trump and his goons hate science and critical thinking

this is really entirely subjective and I'd be surprised if something like this isn't moderated for being flamebait

Is it really subjective, at this point? I could understand someone arguing this in 2015, but now?

The Trump administration drastically cut the budget of basically every govt agency that does or supports scientific research and decimated staffing. Is that not an objective fact? Is there some alternative one?

This is idiotic. Also I've heard this quote multiple times the last few days - is it some meme?

Ultimately though this attitude is just "you shouldn't advocate for anything because the fascists might be emboldened". It's victim-blaming, and cowardly centrism. "This is really your fault; if you hadn't demanded things then we wouldn't be in this situation".

I do generally happen to think that diversity, gender equality, freedom of speech, and public health are causes that are important. I don't feel like being told to shut up about it because someone else is a fascist is very productive.

If wearing a BLM t-shirt is enough to convince people to vote for the other party more than inciting a violent insurrection to overturn an election with zero evidence of malfeasance, then the American electorate is dumber than even the most cynical observer might believe.

Not sure why this is being downvoted. Here is summary of numerous articles warning that political advocacy by scientists would backfire.

https://open.substack.com/pub/unsafescience/p/we-tried-to-wa...

Meh.

That’s what’s supposed to happen. The pendulums swing. It’s fairly definite at this point that the buyer’s remorse from trump will cause a swing back to the left. And so on and so forth.

If we’re going to insist on living in a two party system, then this is the consequence. This is how the system moderates.

The right and the left never moderate. It’s always the system that keeps order over time.

> will cause a swing back to the left.

We do not have a left. I honestly am impressed at the system that has somehow made the democrats seem like "the left".

They're quite literally right wing politicians. Their primary difference with Republicans are that "we have a good thing going for our pockets right now, let's not shock the boat too much."

There are _exceptions_ to democrats that may be considered _slightly left_, but those are exceptions. Not the norm.

Not that old talking point. American left and right are judged on an American left/right scale.

Across the board budget cuts say nothing about supporting the scientific method. These university could easily fund their projects out of their massive multi-billion dollar endowments. We should ask why they aren't.

> Across the board budget cuts say nothing about supporting the scientific method.

Semantic nihilism. It’s a basic fact of political science that governments enact policies in order to achieve outcomes. Or if you prefer cybernetics, there’s always Stafford Beer: “The purpose of a system is what is does.”

They say as Trump says “I’m not joking about a third term”.

What would conservatives done if Obama said the same? Trump is “ingroup” and the law only protects him, it does not bind him.

Obama? Definitely outgroup, and definitely bound by the law.

Liberalism, in the classic sense, is the opposite: the law protects and binds all, equally.

I doubt you are as “in group” as you might think you are.