I was interviewed this week for a major US news show. My interviewer asked me why so few of my colleagues are willing to talk. It’s not just fear of losing funding, but of being singled out by a regime that wants to purge scientists from society. That’s why I do speak out. I wish more people would - ThreadSky

angierasmussen.bsky.social • 2 days ago

I was interviewed this week for a major US news show. My interviewer asked me why so few of my colleagues are willing to talk.

It’s not just fear of losing funding, but of being singled out by a regime that wants to purge scientists from society.

That’s why I do speak out. I wish more people would

Reposted from Amy Maxmen, PhD

In 15 yrs of reporting, I've never had so many health & biomed researchers & outreach orgs tell me they're afraid to talk w/press or barred from speaking bc of new comms policies.

I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.

Comments

ljsj.bsky.social•2 days ago

I mean walking around our neighborhood, if you don’t know each other super well, people are not talking about their situations. I just put a super kind flag in my yard so people know where I stand. People are nervous all over.

catzillasue.bsky.social•2 days ago

Please, everyone, start joining protests. Do them on a regular basis. April 5 is a nationwide protest in America. Check out Indivisible or 50501. Every part of society needs to participate in overcoming this fascist oligarchy. If there isn't one close to you, start one.

brittexkavi.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for speaking up. I hope your colleagues who are able to, join you. There are so many levels of fear rn & unfortunately I think it’s safer for some than others. Talked to my Dad on Tues & our community is v afraid. An older couple was recently held & threatened w/denaturalization.

angierasmussen.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes and these are real risks and a VERY valid reason to not speak up. People have already been fired, defunded, denaturalized, and detained. I understand why many cannot for entirely justifiable reasons that I respect. Yet I hope more people will speak up anyway.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

“Silence is a fence around wisdom,"

kokojo66.bsky.social•2 days ago

fsumogle.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is so correct. The level of brain drain that is going to happen to the US over the next few years is going to be unprecedented unless you want to talk about Nazi Germany.
There is a very Un-American and almost giving vibes of Mao's Cultural Revolution.
It's not just funding and careers.

tyrotcm.bsky.social•2 days ago

I just binged 3-Body Problem (the Cultural Revolution is the backdrop of a major plot thread). That last bit hits hard.

myanulrich.bsky.social•2 days ago

I guess they cannot see the big picture. Science can not succeed in darkness

justnews4you.bsky.social•1 day ago

One of the topics that is just lost is those that did not vote. Every news and dem speaker needs to spend considerable time discussing voting and spending the next year fighting to improve voting access. Waiting until a week before election doesn’t work.

msarchiteuthis.bsky.social•2 days ago

The first four years I was a protest photog. I'm also a scientist. This year I made a sign.
Thank you for speaking up. Going along with their demands doesn't save us. Uniting our institutions, unis, patients, projects etc is strength.

gclaymitchell4th.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm just a local reporter, and I get it. I've had a few doctors who wanted to skip over some questions. I fully understand and empathize with them. We worked together to find the wording needed to convey the message without putting a target on anyone's back.

doxy-cycling.bsky.social•2 days ago

appreciate that you did that.

cmhoskins.bsky.social•2 days ago

So much fear. So fast.

angierasmussen.bsky.social•2 days ago

I am actually really scared about what the people in power are going to do to me personally. There are multiple powerful people in the administration who personally despise me.

They are vicious, punitive, and vengeful and have shown they have no qualms about retaliating against perceived enemies.

trishpaton.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m always glad to read your posts & more about VIDO. I am disappointed to hear that you’re facing that sort of admin violence. We’re lucky to have you here in SK is my opinion!

angierasmussen.bsky.social•2 days ago

I live in Canada and don’t have NIH funding, so I am in a better position to speak up than many of my colleagues. However, that doesn’t prevent defamatory personal attacks, which have taken a huge personal toll.

But I refuse to concede this fight, for both my field and my country.

angierasmussen.bsky.social•2 days ago

While it gets very lonely and isolating sometimes, I completely understand why many of my colleagues must remain silent.

But if nobody speaks up, science will be destroyed. Academia will be destroyed. Democracy will be destroyed.

More people HAVE TO speak up. If you can, please do.

angierasmussen.bsky.social•2 days ago

Opposing authoritarianism is fundamentally patriotic. It is hard to speak up and it takes courage, but standing up for democracy and free speech is inherently American and unfortunately, necessary right now.

The more of us that speak up, the safer it becomes for us to do so. So if you can, do.

metaphysicalist.bsky.social•2 days ago

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

yinlock.bsky.social•1 day ago

basically every president has done this to some degree though

dmg76.bsky.social•2 days ago

We're happy to have you up here in Canada. I appreciate the information you provide here (I left the other hellscape) as it provides needed insight and sometimes comfort of knowing what it is we hear and see from a virus/health perspective. I admire your speaking out on why your work and the work

dmg76.bsky.social•2 days ago

of so many others in your field or in health and sciences is so vital. We have a looming election in Canada too, where there is definitely a solid line between those who would support that work and those who would discredit and defund it. We all need to be outspoken about this - follow your lead.

trw-themongoose.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you!

lucindacatchlove.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's also psychological self defense, going along with fascist regimes (or domestic abusers for that matter) is incredibly corrosive to our integrity unless we're sociopaths. I understand being physically/economically scared but giving in to the psychological fear is building our own prison.

kmeiri.bsky.social•2 days ago

You're lucky to be located in Canada. Keep speaking up!

yousitonmyspot.bsky.social•2 days ago

❤️ thank you for your courage to stand up.

mtatro.bsky.social•2 days ago

I've followed you for years just for the high quality information. Dr. Hotez as well (I wish he were here). Your courage and integrity are even more noteworthy. Many of us see who you really are and appreciate you and your important work. Illegitimi non carborundum.

shayneo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah I saw this dynamic thats happening in Australia under the (thankfully brief) tony abbot govt. Its devestating to see that same mechanism writ large and with no relief in sight in the US. Hang in there americans, us dodgy foreign types might be angry at america, but we still love americans.

darakaye.bsky.social•2 days ago

Proud to see Smith alums leading the way.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

The only thing to fear is fear itself. Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid! If not me, who? If not now, when? We must do the thing we think we cannot do. I am divinely guided and protected!

mossiegirl.bsky.social•2 days ago

Legit concern!

dohers77.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for doing this and taking the risk even at potential personal cost.

rebeccafieldingmiller.com•2 days ago

Or harassed or doxed. Covid was bad for a lot of us in the public eye. This will be worse.

healthdataguy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Many are being told by their own institutions that they can protest/speak up but only as private citizens. The attacks won't stop at DEI, vaccine hesitancy and what not. They just won't stop, period. It's time institutions fight back, and give people free rein to speak up.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

We must do the thing we think we cannot do!

pfluegerlaw.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌

pissedoffnoname.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for your courage Angie. We must not let these fascist authoritarians silence us, because that is exactly the goal. Fear mongering, intimidation, etc, etc.

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•2 days ago

Speak, and they may purge you. Stay silent, they will get to you eventually.

Don’t kid yourself—when they’ve taken the person to your left, then they come for the person on your right, who do you think they’re coming for next? The only way to win is for everyone to break ranks. NOW.

moggyhouse.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is it. So many are complying in advance and hoping to get through unscathed. But no one is getting through unscathed and staying silent just makes it easier for them to win.

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•1 day ago

We have known peace in this country for almost 2 centuries. And in that time we convinced ourselves that things would continue endlessly into the future—sometimes better, sometimes worse—but stable, reliable, reasonable. We believed we are the exception to the rule, that modernity was different

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•1 day ago

2/ from the chaos of history. And we began to fail at every turn to hammer home the lessons of history, to address the shortcomings of our political infrastructure, to always shore up what was most precious to us, and to be sure we valued community as much as individuality.

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•1 day ago

3/ And now we don’t remember that the most important word in any language, when compliance is demanded is NO. If everyone DOGE’s infant goons had told to go home had just said NO, YOU’LL HAVE TO ARREST ME. THIS IS AN UNLAWFUL ACTION, then everything would look completely different right now.

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•1 day ago

4/ Yes, that would’ve been terrifying. It would’ve been terrible. But it would’ve been beautiful. And no one would’ve been alone. And the jails would’ve overflowed—there’s nowhere in DC to keep that many people. It would’ve been a completely different kind of chaos. And it would’ve been us doing it

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

United we stand, divided we fall!

tucker630.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for speaking up. Funding and our rights are disappearing before our eyes now. We need to speak up now or lose it all.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

If not me, who? If not now, when?

bridgethunnicutt.bsky.social•2 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/bridgethunnicutt.bsky.social/post/3libncub7ak2g

valeriejhorsley.bsky.social•2 days ago

Who is covering this? I can’t get local news talk to me

jkinneberg.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m so grateful for the brave scientists who are speaking out, boldly and clearly! We need more & better coverage

This 🧵contains 1-min videos of 2 stellar University of Utah scientists and the former Director of Utah Avalanche Center along with 2024 Dem candidate for Gov

https://bsky.app/profile/jkinneberg.bsky.social/post/3ljvt7xadfk2w

jkinneberg.bsky.social•2 days ago

#StandUpForScience events across the US on March 7 had amazing scientist speakers! I attended and videoed the event in SLC - and yet, where was the coverage of what they said? News showed up to photograph and write some snippets but those 5-minute speeches were excellent and should be heard by all

treemuseums.bsky.social•2 days ago

Are there law firms stepping up to loudly fight to protect protestors, scientists and health professionals that speak up?

meatshieid.bsky.social•2 days ago

stay loud and stay safe

spoonsky.bsky.social•2 days ago

Boy, is this ever the take. I spend a lot of energy trying to make people understand this.

writerartisteh.bsky.social•2 days ago

I get it too, the fear, but we can’t let fear stop us.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid

writerartisteh.bsky.social•1 day ago

Particularly if they’re shattering your life either way, eh? If you’re going down, do it fighting for honour, dignity, respect, inclusion, diversity, equality.

yinlock.bsky.social•1 day ago

thing is they're going to purge them whether they speak out or not, there's nothing to gain by remaining silent.

akjackson.bsky.social•2 days ago

Some people are just less able to restrain their anger. 8-)

joshdsw.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank You.

arghavansallesmd.medsky.social•2 days ago

I have spoken with anyone who’s asked and have posted regularly about the attacks on science and humanity. I agree the more of us who speak up, the better.

energy9086.bsky.social•2 days ago

Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid.

clairerichards.bsky.social•2 days ago

There are things I want to say but I don't worry for me. I worry about maybe the choice that hurts someone else in life altering, more than just funding kind of ways.