When Do We Cancel Someone?
Are there rules? And if so, who makes them? Who enforces them?
At what point do we cancel a celebrity, influencer, author, employee, friend, or acquaintance for views that person espouses? When do someone’s views, words, or actions become worthy not just of criticism, but of ex-communication from mainstream society?
What are the rules for “cancel culture”? And who made the rules? And who enforces them?
Note that I’m not talking about a personal decision to turn the channel or stop listening to someone. Don’t like Tucker Carlson? Don’t watch him. No problem. When it comes to who you watch, listen to, or read, you get to make that choice. That’s called freedom.
When I say “cancel culture,” I’m talking about organized efforts to silence people and/or drive them from mainstream society.
It’s one thing for you to decide not to watch Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow, it’s quite another to demand that others not be able to watch them.
To be clear, I’m also not talking about public criticism. Public figures are fair game for public criticism. Whether we’re talking about Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Rachel Maddow, Jordan Peterson, Cenk Uygur, Ibram X. Kendi, Ann Coulter, or whoever… they are all fair game for criticism.
