A grotesque capitulation

The disgusting and dismaying spectacle of the nation's most prominent law firms, universities, and other institutions preemptively caving to the proto-fascist regime did eventually cause a few mealy-mouthed expressions of regret. However, that hasn't stopped many institutions from continuing to do it. 

 

One of the most shocking is, get this, the American Diabetes Association. This editorial in Medscape by Dr. Irl B. Hirsch tells the vile story.  This actually happened in June but I just came upon it. The ADA had already acted cravenly by inviting quack doctor Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health, to be keynote speaker at its annual convention. In case you question whether "doctor" Bhattacharva is a quack, take it from Dr. Hirsch: "As NIH director, he has blocked the publication of studies on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. He advocates for scaling back mRNA vaccine development (including for use against type 1 diabetes) and opposes vaccine mandates. On top of all that, he has defended the 40% NIH cuts requested by the Trump administration— ironically, as a way to shift resources away from “politicalized science” and redirect them to chronic disease prevention and nutrition."

 

An editorial deriding the NIH budget cuts and grant cancellations previously appeared in the Associations journal Diabetes Care. A few of the scientists in attendance decided to hand out copies of the editorial to attendees. They did so peacefully and quietly. As it happened, Bhattacharva chickened out and sent a flunky in his place, but that's of no consequence. 

 

So the ADA had the Louisiana state police confiscate the papers and expel the scientists from the meeting. Really. Among those expelled were Steven Kahn, Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Care, and Desmond Schatz, a former ADA president. Writes Hirsch:

 

"The comments from the ADA during the meeting “doubled down” on its actions. We were told that those handing out the editorial broke the “code of conduct,” which I hadn’t heard of before. The apology from CEO Chuck Henderson after the meeting fell short because he did not specifically apologize for the actions leading to revoking the five scientists’ badges. Instead, he apologized to them for the “hurt, frustration, and pain that resulted” and said there would be an independent review of the events and the policies, procedures and decision-making processes that guided the actions. So, we got a pseudo-apology as social media was ablaze in fury at the ADA."

 

Hirsch rightly asks why there needs to be an "independent review" since everyone knows what happened and the ADA leadership presumably know what they did. Says Hirsch, "ADA leadership has forgotten its mission. As millions of dollars come in, do the CEO and board consider the core mission of ADA? Many of us don’t believe the mission is even on their radar." 

 

Amen to that. The sickening cowardice of so many wealthy and powerful people, whose own future is secure, in the face of these ignorant, malevolent bullies, seems inexplicable to me. Maybe you can explain it.