I am still thinking about the #SHEAR2020 plenary and want to comment on the framing of the panel. These views have come out of many, many conversations (see citations at the end) /1

The president of @Shearite identified this conversation because connecting it to Trump was “timely” for this “moment.” It was something that might not be topical after the November election /2

Yet this framing implies that being “timely” in this “moment” requires connecting Jackson to the issues of white populist revolt, economic unrest and political economy, and the power of the president. Of course that is correct /3

But this draws one powerful connection, and omitted many others /4

Why isn’t discussing removal and the broader landscape of Indigenous history “timely” in this “moment”? The landmark McGirt decision would call for this /5

Why isn’t it “timely” in this “moment” to talk about slavery and the reinvention of racism in the 1830s? The rebellion against white supremacy that the Movement for Black Lives is coordinating in cities around the U. S. would call for this /6

Why isn’t it “timely” in this “moment” to discuss the reconfiguration of perceived gender differences and men’s authority (think Peggy Eaton and so much more)? The ongoing attack on patriarchy that the MeToo movement is instigating would call for this /7

Why isn’t it “timely” in this “moment” to talk about public health and its powerful impact on vulnerable communities? The ongoing COVID crisis would call for this /8

Saying that the plenary was “timely” for our “moment,” and then foregrounding the questions it did, erases the work so many of us are doing. It privileges the experiences of working-class white men, and political economy, as the central questions in this “moment.” /9

The framing of the plenary replicates, implicitly, the fascination in knowing why Trump supporters are so angry (a conversation I think we should have) while also ignoring why so many others are also angry /10

This is the moment for so many people, not just white men, to tackle enduring problems in our society, not just political economy. In framing the plenary like this, it privileged whose moment this should be in 2020 /11

To end I want to thank the many people who I’ve talked with this week. Chiefly Dr. Sarah Gronningsater, Dr. Elizabeth Ellis, and Dr. Honor Sachs. Cite your people, folks. Always. /Finis