I find the situation unfortunate and was also very much looking forward to learning more from Mike,
But
as someone who followed the events that Andrej has described from the
start, with sadness I support the decision by the HoTTEST organizers to
not hold the lectures immediately thereafter under the auspices of a
Distinguished series.
If nothing else, I feel
it would have been premature that soon, and would have worked against
the goal of welcoming people of all gender presentations and identities.
I am not myself trans and can thus easily afford to "tolerate" the
public declaration of positions that lead to worse societal outcomes for
them. But this is not the case for the significant number of trans
people in, and adjacent to, the HoTT community, some of whom have to
actively hide this part of themselves on pain of e.g. family violence.
We should think about such things when considering using hot-button
phrases like "political correctness" and "cancel culture".
I certainly look forward to hearing about Mike's (and Thorsten's and Ambrus's) ideas in another format or on another occasion.
With respect and kind regards,
Josh