What we learned from #anthroboycott

Please join me in reading responsively

We learned that Boycott supporters felt silenced and intimidated by the anti-Boycott sentiment in their departments while on the other hand anti-Boycott supporters felt silenced and intimidated by the Boycott sentiment in their departments.

We learned that the AAA could deal judiciously with a difficult topic or
We learned that the AAA’s curation of Israel’s “World Anthropology” was biased

we learned that everyone cared because turn out was at an all time high or
We learned that no one cared because only half the association votes
(but then again fifty percent is an F
even with grade inflation.)

We learned the other side couldn’t see how far right it was unless
The other side couldn’t see how far left it was.

The boycott was against anthropology’s commitment to relativism, tolerance, and dialogue and
The boycott was part of anthropology’s commitment to social justice.

We learned that the only reason the other side won is that they bought cookies to the business meeting
or
they purchased extra memberships just to vote.

We learned we couldn’t talk because politics is when the time for talking is past and
We learned should have talked more because talking is what politics is.

We learned that Israel is different than some have been told although
We learned the country is gravely misunderstood by others

We learned that we have the same values, just differently ranked or
have the same values, but believe different things are true
or
have different values, and differently rank what we think is true
but we don’t
have the same values and believe the same things
since
that is not the proper role of scholarly associations
unless
this is the most important thing a scholarly association can do.

We learned that never again
means
‘never again’
or might mean
‘never again’
Because Jewish rights are human rights
and human rights are Palestinian rights
which are human rights which
is why never again means
what it does
unless

#anthroboycott matters because we learned
we learned #anthroboycott matters because

Because we learned #anthroboycott matters

Matters learned because we #anthroboycott

we #anthroboycott because learned

learned because we #anthroboycott

we because #anthroboycott

learned matters

because

we

Rex

Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His book Leviathans at The Gold Mine has been published by Duke University Press. You can contact him at rex@savageminds.org

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