If you follow the world of Economics Lawrence Summers is a name you've likely heard before. Summers was a long-time professor at Harvard University and was President of Harvard from 2001-2006. He has also worked in various roles for multiple Presidents serving in the Clinton Administration as, among other things, Secretary of the Treasury and under Barack Obama as Director of the National Economic Council. Although Summers has had his share of controversies for personal clashes with others and a tendency to say things that are heterodox to the modern progressive worldview it's hard to match his bonafides, either academically or politically as a member of the Democratic Party.
So you can almost hear the pain in his voice through his tweets as he laments the current state of his former employer and graduate alma mater.
In nearly 50 years of @Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups' statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
Unlike President Bacow’s strong statement of support for Ukraine after Putin’s invasion and the decision to fly the Ukraine flag over Harvard yard...https://t.co/0BFXtyMrXG
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
...or Dean Gay’s powerful statement on police violence, we have as yet - 48 hours later - no official Harvard statement at this time of moral testing. https://t.co/ePl9Z6cYcF
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
Instead, Harvard is being defined by the morally unconscionable statement apparently coming from two dozen student groups blaming all the violence on Israel. I am sickened. I cannot fathom the Administration’s failure to disassociate the University and condemn this statement.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
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I very much hope appropriate statements from the University and College condemning those who launched terrorist attacks and standing in solidarity with its victims will soon be forthcoming.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
To be clear nothing is wrong with criticizing Israeli policy past, present or future. I have been sharply critical of PM Netanyahu. But that is very different from lack of clarity regarding terrorism.
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) October 9, 2023
It's hard not to feel sympathy for his position and it helps to understand Summers' probably misguided hope that a statement condemning Hamas will be made by the Harvard administration; we'd all like to see that but the odds of it happening seem... low.
But in many ways, this is a problem that Summers himself may have fed into by his tireless advocacy for liberal causes, as many were quick to point out.
That you’re surprised speaks volumes. https://t.co/K1EnW10awa
— Noam Blum 🚡 (@neontaster) October 9, 2023
So do you agree it’s time to abolish the DEI structures that inculcate the illiberalism you seem to be decrying? https://t.co/kSEmDZ7PH6
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) October 9, 2023
This is the type of culture your people built and perpetuated. Now you see it because it’s affecting you. https://t.co/8AfXGuPgVa
— Tahmineh Dehbozorgi (@DeTahmineh) October 9, 2023
You allowed this evil to manifest and mature at Harvard, right under you nose. It wasn't hidden or disguised, it was out in plain sight. You did nothing, you said nothing, and called the people who did notice bigots and racists.
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) October 9, 2023
Sorry, but too late for your crocodile tears https://t.co/SJ7mS2lB9f
Of course, at least a few applaud Summers for coming around in the end, even though it may be too late.
It's shocking that a thread like this is even necessary. How hard is it for Harvard to say 'terrorism is bad'? Apparently very hard if it means challenging the far-left student groups that the administration lives in fear of.
— Jim Meigs (@jamesbmeigs) October 9, 2023
Good for @LHSummers. https://t.co/aeGPLs1aEc
It's always good to see someone begin to recognize how their actions have affected the world around them. While it's easy to point out how Summers' past work and decisions led to this moment, perhaps it would be more productive to ask him to consider that question himself and to perhaps do things differently going forward.
Just a thought.
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