Cancel culture

Cancel culture
Author JK Rowling found herself a target of cancel culture after not agreeing with every bit of the transgender movement's agenda.
Interest of	• Nick Fuentes • Paddy Hannam • Dan Kovalik • Brendan O'Neill • Reclaim The Net • Michael Rectenwald • Dave Rubin • The Post Millennial • Brittany Venti
a part of Censorship

Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or personal. Those subject to this ostracism are said to have been "cancelled". Thus, cancel culture is a concept supported by advocates of censorship.

With strong real or pretended sense of righteousness by self-declared champions of social justice, cancel culture is often noted for its unforgiving and militantly aggressive stance, with a non-negotiable agenda. Typically it concentrates on certain identity politics issues, especially perceived sexism, homophobia, not agreeing with every bit of the transgender movement's agenda, or racism.

Cancel culture is aimed primarily at those who are considered privileged because of their gender (male) or skin color ('race'). This is usually accompanied by accusations that can damage the reputation of the person concerned, and has led to layoffs, career and income loss, the discontinuation of films and television series, and erasure of historical symbols.

Dan Kovalik, who wrote the book Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture’, described it as:

The left's obsessive concentration on purely symbolic struggle, for example I'm removing statues even of abolitionists and of trying to cancel works of art and books that, though flawed in some ways, have tremendous historic and other value. These symbolic acts, while having some importance, take energy and effort away from the fight for things such as healthcare and income support that will actually help people, and that a greater proportion of people in this country would be willing to get behind such acts tend quite unnecessarily to alienate many people who might otherwise join the struggle for progressive reform.

Progressive writer Chris Hedges has explained the historical lines:

a witch hunt by self-appointed moral arbiters of speech has become the boutique activism of a liberal class that lacks the courage and the organizational skills to challenge the actual centers of power. [..]It is much easier to turn from these overwhelming battles to take down hapless figures who make verbal gaffes, those who fail to speak in the approved language or embrace the approved attitudes of the liberal elites.

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The irony, of course, is that the cancel culture was pioneered by the redbaiting of the capitalist class and their shock troops in agencies such as the FBI to break radical movements and labor unions. Tens of thousands of people in the name of anti-communism were canceled out of the culture. The well-financed Israel lobby shutting down critics of the Israeli apartheid state, and those of us who support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement as anti-Semites is a classic example of how cancel culture is used to destroy free speech.

Context

In July 2020, Harper's Magazine published an open letter called "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate" criticizing "illiberalism" in (it did not use the term 'cancel culture') and promoting a tolerance of different viewpoints, stating:

We uphold the value of robust and even caustic counter-speech from all quarters. But it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought. …

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Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature in class; … The result has been to steadily narrow the boundaries of what can be said without the threat of reprisal. We are already paying the price in greater risk aversion among writers, artists, and journalists who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement.

Victims of cancel culture

People who have been cancel include both contemporary and historical figures.

• Julian Assange
• JK Rowling
• Enid Blyton
• Lana Del Rey
• Cassandra Fairbanks
• George Galloway