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Conservatives want to talk about "cancel culture." Ok, let's talk about it -- about how right-wing groups created it, continue to benefit from it, and warp the entire debate about it. https://jill.substack.com/p/whos-getting-cancelled-now
I am not a person who says that there’s nothing to see here when it comes to claims of left-wing over-reach. I think there’s often far less to see than what the loudest critics claim, but we are walking through new territory;, sometimes we over-step. This is worthy of discussion.
But that discussion and debate needs to be full and honest. The truth is that it’s not the left doing most of the “canceling,” or penalizing people for their views, actions, and beliefs. It’s the right. The religious right is the most censorious and cancel-happy force in America.
Conservatives have fought hard to give institutions the right to cancel employment or service at will, simply because they disagree with a person’s private behavior or political views, or because they simply don’t like who a person is.
One example: The same people who are up in arms about JK Rowling getting “canceled” & sales of Harry Potter nosediving didn’t have much of anything to say when religious schools were banning Rowling's books. It's not "cancel culture" when they're doing it; it's religious freedom.
While conservatives complain that colleges stifle conservative thought, religious schools require faculty to sign "statements of faith" and fire them if they transgress. They often refuse to recognize prochoice groups. They require a level of ideological conformity for employment
Maybe you believe that private institutions have a nearly unlimited right to demand ideological conformity & adherence to their moral rules. But then you don't get to complain that liberal private institutions are demanding ideological conformity & adherence to their moral rules.
None of this is easy, especially in the workplace and in institutions of higher learning. There are real tensions between the rights of different groups of employees (the right to free expression in one's own time vs. the right to fair treatment in the workplace, for example).
There are real tensions between workers' rights and the rights of members of the public to be free of discrimination. Robust worker protections will sometimes be at odds with strict enforcement of institutional values. These are tough issues, and there is no singular solution.
We shouldn’t shy away from these difficult conversations about competing rights and interests, about speech and safety and power. But we also shouldn’t let a loud and dishonest group of people warp and manipulate the debate to serve their ends.
There is a stifling of dissenting voices. There is a culture of cancellation, punishment, expulsion, and firing for those who don’t toe a very narrow political line.
But it’s not coming primarily from the left.
But it’s not coming primarily from the left.
You can read the full piece here. And if you enjoy it and want more, please consider subscribing. https://jill.substack.com/p/whos-getting-cancelled-now
