Non-mastermind reveals non-elaborate plan to manipulate media

I guess on one level I can’t blame Chris Rufo for being completely candid up front about how his rube-running fake-scandals are cynical manufactured bullshit, because it hasn’t stopped the political press from taking him seriously before. But really how can anyone pretend not to see what’s going on here?

He's just laying out how it works. Exactly the path many campus stories have taken. https://t.co/EGnTyMqCXW— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) December 19, 2023

A few points:

• If you’re letting yourself get manipulated by a particularly bumbling Bond villain who is also such a pompous dork that he signs his own goddamned tweets it’s time to seriously evaluate your life choices.
• If you’re calling for Gay to resign — whether over her answering a cynical MAGA demagogue’s stupid and misleading questions accurately at a McCarthy hearing or over penny-ante plagiarism complaints nobody actually cares about (just ask them!) — the only question is whether you’re the con or the mark.
• If you think Gay resigning would lead to more free and civil dialogue on campus, I’m sorry you lost your life savings to the Federal Wallet and Breast Inspector, but there’s no need to take it out on students and faculty at Harvard. We don’t have to guess what Chris Rufo’s ideal university looks like — it’s a diploma mill for Republican frat boys with absolutely no academic freedom run by an extremely partisan Republican with no relevant credentials or abilities.
• Harvard seems to be holding up under the pressure so far, and hopefully -Rufo’s missive will settle the question about whether the latest charges are being raised in good faith or not. There is never anything to be gained by giving in to bullies, let alone bullies who are currently laying waste to the higher education system of the country’s third largest state.