Addendum.

My one (grad school) colleague who got into (social work) once observed to me when we were talking about something, that I usually see something shaping up and digest it and render a verdict that can seem from out-of-nowhere and even a bit out-there at the time, but in retrospect, I'm almost always proven right (= his words to me about me, more or less).

With activist-y stuff and freelance writing, that kind of approach just runs into too many barriers that puts an end to so many worthwhile contributions before they start, whereas with scholarship at least it's out there for those who might care, and for posterity.