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If you're working in a politically salient science (like sociology and biology), then you gotta examine the most dissident-coded positions as well as the currently most popular ones. If you haven't studied "cranks" comprehensively, you're probably underestimating their reliance on the mainstream.

Like it or not, elitist "cranks" are more ascendant than ever, and your beloved institutions and disciplines aren't safe unless they support them. They're using widespread untruths (conceptual and empirical) and mistakes, and taking them to "honest" conclusions. You wanna stop that? Then fight it.

“It, your, they, them, they’re, them, you, that, it”… I just didn’t know what you were talking about.

Point is that the "politically extreme" and "populist" assholes aren't just "those freaks over there". Their masters run the show now. Whatever doesn't support them is getting buried under mountains of bullshit that does support them, and it's mostly recycled and extended "reputable" "science".

e.g. the "race realists" aren't just making up their own shit. They're relying on some quite nuanced statistical models and piles of alleged evidence, including country-level educational data of the sorts that your favorite pundits' favorite think tanks use.

There you go with pronouns again. Who is “them”?

You get one more shot to show me you're not a troll. When I said: "I am TIRED of people just brushing them off like ignoring them will make them go away." I was clearly talking about "the "politically extreme" and "populist" assholes". Earlier, I called them "elitist "cranks"".

You know, I’m really old. I’ve heard the term “troll” but I’m not even sure what it means. Your labels and epithets are meaningless to me and most readers. I’m really not trying to be difficult or rude but I don’t know who you’re referring to. Maybe you are grinding an old axe and I’m unaware.

I gave you a whole group of examples: the "race realists". Transphobes, "right-libertarians", Eugenicists and many "manosphere" types fit the bill too. If you wanna stop them, do you agree that it'd be useful to be able to intellectually defend the idea that more people should stop them?