Just to be clear, Naomi and all, I think that first letter was circulated
well before this whole thing spiralled out of control. I decided not to
sign it because, although sympathetic with its thrust, I did not agree with
some of its specific points, and because by the time it went around the
associate editors at Hypatia had already responded and I felt the debate
had moved on. But I think there were perfectly good reasons to sign the
first letter.

At this point, though, enough already. I also agree with Camisha that this
new letter is offensive on various fronts including for its erasure of
race. But even a better 'counterletter' would have been ill-conceived at
this point. I agree with Naomi and Camisha both that there are multiple
good reasons not to put one's name on this letter.

Rebecca

On Sun, May 28, 2017 at 2:25 PM, Naomi Scheman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I appreciate Rebecca's post, especially the call to work on the issues
> rather than "metametametacritiques," but, as a committed second-wave
> feminist and former president of my university's AAUP chapter, I want to
> make it clear that there is nothing contradictory about my also having
> signed the original open letter, despite the claims in this one. I don't
> know how many of the signatories to this letter actually read the original
> one, still less the continuing discussion around it: had they done so, it
> should have been obvious just how off-base this letter is.
>
> For a start, every effort has been made by the critics to take the focus
> off of Rebecca Tuvel and place it where it belongs--on the profession of
> philosophy and on what those of us who have loved, nurtured, relied on, and
> been proud of *Hypatia *see as a lamentable and hopefully correctable
> lapse in editorial judgment. And, crucially, the problem is NOT with the
> conclusions Tuvel argues for, nor with her right to make, or *Hypatia* to
> publish, arguments for those or any other conclusions. The problem--as has
> been made clearly over and over again--is with the failure of the article
> to substantially engage, and, crucially, the failure of the review process
> to call for substantially engaging, with the work of trans theorists, of
> critical race theorists, and of Black feminists, all of whom have written
> extensively on the topics of the article in ways that Tuvel is completely
> free to disagree with but not to ignore. It is symptomatic of the
> marginalization of such voices in the profession that such ignorance is
> passed over rather than being treated in the same way as any other failure
> to engage with the work of those most knowledgeable about and theoretically
> sophisticated in the area in which one is writing.
>
> The point is NOT to demand ideological conformity nor to suggest, as was,
> for example, misleadingly reported in *The New York Times*, that only
> members of marginalized groups can write about those groups: the relevant
> slogan is not "nothing about us except by us" or "nothing about us we don't
> like"--it's "nothing about us *without* us." The call is for inclusion,
> for respect, for intellectual humility, for more--not less--critical
> thinking and writing. It's for taking seriously the responsibility that
> goes along with academic freedom. This open letter is a thinly veiled
> attack on the work of those--many of them professionally vulnerable--who
> are challenging philosophy and the broader culture to take seriously voices
> the more privileged among us (and I include myself in that group) have been
> taught not to listen to, let alone to learn from. Waving the banner of
> academic freedom to silence criticism and close one's ears to discomforting
> voices is the height of hypocrisy, and I urge signers of this letter to
> consider removing their names.
>
> Naomi Scheman
> Professor Emerita, Philosophy and Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies
> University of Minnesota
>
> On May 28, 2017, at 10:59 AM, Rebecca Kukla <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> So people are angry about an open letter that they felt attacked a junior
> person so they thought the best solution was yet another open letter
> attacking what was mostly junior people? This has to stop somewhere. And
> this affair has to be allowed to die already.
>
> I didn't sign the first letter and I am not signing this one either.
>
> People need to stop trying to settle their academic and political
> disagreements via open letters designed to publicly shame by ganging up on
> other people. It's not even clear what action item this one is calling for.
> (The article is already being published, with only tiny word changes to
> bring it in line with current linguistic conventions that avoid slurs, and
> the other two items are too vague to be actionable.)
>
> The issues in this area are super important, so let's actually work on
> them, rather than devoting our productive hours to metametametacritiques.
>
> Rebecca
>
> On Sun, May 28, 2017 at 10:39 AM, Veltman, Andrea - veltmaal <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>> Julian Vigo ([log in to unmask]) asked me to forward the following
>> message to the FEAST listserv.
>>
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>>
>> Andrea
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________
>>
>> Dr. Andrea Veltman
>> Associate Professor of Philosophy
>> Department of Philosophy & Religion
>> James Madison University
>> MSC 8006
>> Harrisonburg, VA  22807
>> Office phone: 540-568-4236
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> My latest book, *Meaningful Work*, is recently published by Oxford
>> University Press:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__global.oup.com_academic_product_meaningful-2Dwork-2D&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HUp8-bkYMlNgd3ZJBxWBKsBsFAFGHrEZg21p9gxugJA&m=cDY8axoJe4GPUSyuWSftJ7GgZXOzBAUaeHpPhrkeJ_Q&s=VYHD1i4pzYncanH5N0DjpRXI3C2eXJetIGokh6gbHrY&e= 
>> 9780190618179?cc=us&lang=en&
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__global.oup.com_academic_product_meaningful-2Dwork-2D9780190618179-3Fcc-3Dus-26lang-3Den-26&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HUp8-bkYMlNgd3ZJBxWBKsBsFAFGHrEZg21p9gxugJA&m=LOV-2yxVfBhZ6rrELChk7V70HvBgW6zEshQ0UIKg7j4&s=HYce-eGOp33z007rPm2X5TNGaDb6rEQYz0bS3UosSqI&e=>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Julian Vigo <[log in to unmask]>
>> *Sent:* Saturday, May 27, 2017 3:54 PM
>> *To:* Veltman, Andrea - veltmaal
>> *Subject:* open letter
>>
>> Dear Andrea,
>>
>> I am writing to ask if you could sign & share this open letter to protect
>> academic freedom related to the Tuvel affair with consequences far beyond:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ipetitions.com_petition_an-2Dopen-2Dletter-2Don-2Dthe-2D&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HUp8-bkYMlNgd3ZJBxWBKsBsFAFGHrEZg21p9gxugJA&m=cDY8axoJe4GPUSyuWSftJ7GgZXOzBAUaeHpPhrkeJ_Q&s=WuzzkBN4CHNI2AsQCk7TDXimFL0ZoqGvrM20ZORoosA&e= 
>> hypatia-controversy
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ipetitions.com_petition_an-2Dopen-2Dletter-2Don-2Dthe-2Dhypatia-2Dcontroversy&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=pD1LC8iUB_9BolWVjp5mQO6Efu7JLE3SBBQChsLBQFA&e=>
>>
>> Your collaboration in signing and sharing this on social media, with
>> colleagues and the Listserv would be creating appreciated!
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Julian Vigo
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚
>> ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚
>>  Dr. Julian Vigo, PhD, FRSA
>>      www.lubellule.com
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.lubellule.com_&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=lb2KP3tV7dUGoMg0KrnwvFGHaQbKDzIfW2DnaflwlMc&e=>
>>
>>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>>
>>
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>> linkedin
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__uk.linkedin.com_pub_julian-2Dvigo-2Dphd_18_b24_5a5&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=Brg7Suwas2mQYJTX_opKLW3fHp-Z0fjtr4S546HlciE&e=>
>>   aboutme
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__about.me_julianvigo&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=CtuY6MLWsQNiq_B2LMDT2V8kGYMrgCu6Q9MsarFeLKg&e=>
>>   twitter
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.twitter.com_lubelluledotcom&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=1tZr6fcqe5sG1BFlSuI6Jnynvj_55RCbV3YTleKhSTA&e=>
>>   google+
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__plus.google.com_u_0_114965595632445402873&d=DwMGaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=D9KtTmOQsn10dtN5dPMs0Q&m=5u-tJCbUBRI5uuQg2RcQWoYD8ONgKhBApUTxxS6d4u8&s=YCmrjJh7nOwd7aieUW7wEml27zyKNbRHRCKGBIHc71s&e=>
>>
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