What ‘Cancel Culture’ Ignores About Free Speech

Is ‘cancel culture’ real? Are we losing grip on the fundamental right to free speech? Are we entering a new phase of cultural authoritarianism that targets anyone who goes against the grain? Or ... are those hysterics pointed in the wrong direction? In the second episode of “Backspace,” a new media critique series from AJ+, Sana Saeed explores how we've re-imagined an old conversation on speech and accountability and how free speech is, in fact, under threat – just not in the way we're made to think it is.

[pussy_master]

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
- Noam Chomsky

[evonerfin]

"If liberty means anything at all, it means right to tell others what they don't want to hear"
George Orwell

[Rickertsred]

My father used to say “This is America, and everyone has the right to voice their beliefs and opinions, no matter how stupid they sound.”.

[oanaalexia]

You can get offended by everything if you're emotionally dysregulated and carry a lot of traumas. I also suspect that this cancel culture is a place where trolls feel at home and maybe, some feel a degree of pleasure in slandering someone and eventually cancelling them.

[kristian]

One thing I think the video should have brought up is how the incentive structures of social media contributes greatly to the dynamics of harassment, dogpiling, and abuse so many associate with cancel culture. Social media sites want to maximize engagement, and they've figured out long ago that fear and anger are the best emotions to tap into to do that. And so "Person X said/did something horrible!" can spiral out of control, leading in the most extreme cases to the person being cancelled dying by suicide.

[cipaisone]

I believe that what is missing (what was perhaps never there) is a “forgiveness culture. The fact that for any controversial statement, a person is marked for life has two devastating effect: either a person must retire from public life, get cancelled, or the person will make the very fact that was criticised, a reason to fight against cancel culture, thus gaining even more popularity (especially’, many times, among frustrated people, looking for a leader).
Imagine the public would forgive a statement instead. I am not saying that a person making a false statement should not be accused and eventually even pay, for claims such as inciting violence, racism, etc…simply, a single statement should not be a reason to eliminate a public person, a chance to redeem itself should be given. People should forgive… and it is ironic that forgiveness should be a pillar of Christianity (though never was in practice), and my thoughts are those of a non Christian

[johnsailorsgoat]

"I may not agree with what you have to say but I will die for your right to say it." -Voltaire

[JanLCn]

Free speech means defending the right of others to say what you personally disagree with. If speech is silenced, bad ideas don't die out, they just go unchallenged.

[debojitchatterjee]

I hate cancel culture and the mob mentality but the fact this has been happening on the left is hilarious. I live in a country where two years ago a death of a famous bollywood superstar was used by a right wing party for political gains. I tried to protest on Facebook and a group of people pounced upon me like a prey in the comment section and literally cyber lynched me. The same happened with reporters questioning the govt actions on pulwama, activist protesting CAA, NRC, farmers protest arrested. Anyone speaking out against toxic cultures is boycotted as anti india. Right wingers have been carrying out cancel culture since years while martryrising themselves, self victimising against people who are trying to hold them accountable.

[wrayth]

At first I thought this was going to be a neutral stance depicting what cancel culture is and how it can actually hurt people, but this seems really pro cancel culture.

[tablab]

Like Stephen Fry Points out, we need to be strategic in our application of political activism. Double-down culture and being right culture has us forgetting that with the wrong message, or message delivered ineffectively, members of our audience are bound to run screaming into the arms of tyrants and vote against their interests and the common good.

[bobcondoulis]

Imagine if those being canceled by cancel culture asked "why is being canceled ok when criticizing Israel"

[werone]

I have mixed feelings about "Cancel Culture" because while I don't want to open a can of worms of censorship I feel that there's a time and place for everything.

[lukasmiller]

Freedom of Speech does come with consequences and responsibility but if you see something hateful or bigoted online, you can always roll your eyes, click x and ignore it. If you are so angry you want to crucify that person’s livelihood you’re the one with the problem for seeking validation from him in the first place. When I was younger I was guilty of occasionally saying hateful, bigoted and careless things online and then deleted them after giving it some thought after receiving strong and well-deserved feedback. It didn’t mean I was a psychopath; it just means I needed to grow up.

[latinray]

They canceled speedy Gonzalez I'm mexican American and that was my favorite character

[holyfordus]

*”I’m being CANCELLED!”* they loudly proclaim on literally every social media platform available.

[mochithepooh]

Honestly "cancel culture" is just 'due to technology, now complain of normal average people can be heard'. Like previously if you want to complain or criticize about bad articles in newspaper or people, you got to go through a lot of steps. But now you can just open your phone and tweet about it.

[TheJayman]

There definitely is something to cancel culture. What sucks about it is the moralism, the drive to identify guilty parties and a negligence of systemic analysis of the dynamics that might give rise to said guilty parties. The cases where systems are A-OK and it's truly just individual bad apples that need to be cancelled are few and far between (or non-existent). Whether you're identifying guilty individuals (cancel culture) or guilty (identity) groups (antisemitism / generational hate), you're not solving the problem and possibly creating new ones by ignoring systems.

[dcissignedon]

It's not complicated, suppress someone's ability to speak, and you take away his ability to change things by PERSUASION, leaving him no alternative but violence. The surest way to create a violent society is to suppress a persons ability to say what he believes - whatever he believes. And that's true whether what he believes is true or false, kind or hateful.

[bokasseloreos]

Thank you for the bit about Palestinians and others getting cancelled for their pro-Palestinian views. This is absent from most discussions on cancel culture. Fact is, zionists started cancel culture...back in the 80s when the ADL was chasing down professors in universities with views "sympathetic" to Arabs.