"open debate" is a wonderful platitude, but it ignores the reality that some groups (especially marginalized ones) are always shut out of the debate a priori. signatories seem concerned w/bottom-up pressures (cancel culture) but not top-down (institutional suppression/exclusion).
...calls for "open debate" or "free speech" are never politically neutral – they're always tacitly for some speech & against others (as I explain here: https://medium.com/@juliaserano/refusing-to-tolerate-intolerance-f24c1bff513f). there isn't a single signatory who truly believes that *no one* should be fired for their speech...
..."A Letter on Justice and Open Debate" is merely the signatories' lofty-sounding appeal that *they* not be held responsible or accountable for things that *they* say. no more, no less. instead of vague appeals to "open debate", let's focus on the merits of each individual case.
...also, I do not have a fancy-pants major-media writing gig, nor an academic position. so if you like what I have written about these issues (& have made free online), please consider supporting me on Patreon, here's how: https://www.patreon.com/juliaserano 
hey, I wrote another THREAD about the signatories & what they were likely thinking. here's the last tweet, work your way up! https://twitter.com/JuliaSerano/status/1280608245212565504
okay then, I wrote another THREAD about the hypocrisy of the #harpersletter. you can read it up and down from here: https://twitter.com/JuliaSerano/status/1280676420289613825
hey looksy here, it's one of those "kids are transitioning to avoid homophobia" conspiracy theorists! I block anti-trans conspiracy theorists, bye. for any onlookers, here's a thread addressing this claim: https://twitter.com/JuliaSerano/status/1279864796049858560
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