Jon Chait talks about how - especially post-George Floyd - we expect comments from various institutions about current events. It takes about ten minutes of thought to realize that this is weird. Why should I care what a university president thinks about the Ukrainian or Gaza conflicts? Especially at universities, there is a sort of conflict-centric way of looking at everything. We have to know what everyone in "authority" thinks so that we can boycott or protest accordingly.
What I think Chait typically misses in these polemics is that it's such a very small section of college students (to use this example) who drive this nonsense. It's part of a dynamic whereby the whims and desires of every young person is suddenly what institutions should heed. Of course, young people are idealistic. That's good. They are not, however, known for their wisdom. That's normal. Trying to keep up with where you need to stand on any particular issue on any particular day is exhausting.
Kids should absolutely protest. It's an important part of their discovery of who they are and what they believe. The idea that everyone needs to drop everything and agree with them because they protest is not, however, a cultural prerogative.
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