What happened to Ms. Sommers on Monday is a telling example of a wider phenomenon that reaches well beyond the confines of campus. We live in a world in which politically fascistic behavior, if not the actual philosophy, is unquestionably on the rise. For even the most minor transgressions, as in the case of Professor Beard, people are turned radioactive. As they are stripped of meaning, they strip us of our sharpness — of our ability to react forcefully to real fascists and misogynists or members of the alt-right. Calling women like Christina Hoff Sommers and Mary Beard fascists and racists only helps the other side.

Source: New York Times March 07, 2018 20:57 UTC