There is part of this conversation (18:36) where Nichols complains about an open letter signed by about 1000 public health officials that said it was ok to protest. The letter is worse than that, it says it is actively good to protest because racial justice is a public health issue. So, I get the frustration, but 1000 signatures is not a…
There is part of this conversation (18:36) where Nichols complains about an open letter signed by about 1000 public health officials that said it was ok to protest. The letter is worse than that, it says it is actively good to protest because racial justice is a public health issue. So, I get the frustration, but 1000 signatures is not a big number. It is very easy to get 1000 people to sign a letter. And who were these people exactly? I encourage people to look at the letter. It is insane to lump this diverse group (some impressive sounding, mostly not) together as "experts" on anything. Aren't "general interest commentators" like Nichols supposed to be able to discern how insignificant that number is? Aren't they supposed to be able to understand how unserious this is as an example of what actual "experts" were thinking? He says the letter is signed by a thousand "doctors" when in fact this group includes "community stakeholders", one person signed it "Art Therapist", some people have no titles at all. I obviously agree that letter was very very dumb, and there was a great deal of hypocrisy on this subject by even specific prominent officials. I also agree with the larger point you make, that experts overstepped their roles by making any suggestions on "what to do" at all. But I think the use of that letter has become a bit of a lazy shorthand for pundits, and it demonstrates the media's own failings in terms of what to promote to the public.
There is part of this conversation (18:36) where Nichols complains about an open letter signed by about 1000 public health officials that said it was ok to protest. The letter is worse than that, it says it is actively good to protest because racial justice is a public health issue. So, I get the frustration, but 1000 signatures is not a big number. It is very easy to get 1000 people to sign a letter. And who were these people exactly? I encourage people to look at the letter. It is insane to lump this diverse group (some impressive sounding, mostly not) together as "experts" on anything. Aren't "general interest commentators" like Nichols supposed to be able to discern how insignificant that number is? Aren't they supposed to be able to understand how unserious this is as an example of what actual "experts" were thinking? He says the letter is signed by a thousand "doctors" when in fact this group includes "community stakeholders", one person signed it "Art Therapist", some people have no titles at all. I obviously agree that letter was very very dumb, and there was a great deal of hypocrisy on this subject by even specific prominent officials. I also agree with the larger point you make, that experts overstepped their roles by making any suggestions on "what to do" at all. But I think the use of that letter has become a bit of a lazy shorthand for pundits, and it demonstrates the media's own failings in terms of what to promote to the public.