Afraid of being canceled!

…The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted.  …censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty… it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought. Harpers, July 7, 2020

Two Hundred or so writers, professors and activists signed this letter published in Harpers.  All of a sudden they fear being canceled for something they said or did or will say or will do.  After all, nothing is sacred to the cancel culture and it must be unfair to these stalwart ‘two hundred’ who are probably ok with canceling anyone as long as it isn’t them. 

They fear the hot breath of wokeness.

We are paying the price in greater risk aversion, they write, … who fear for their livelihoods if they depart from the consensus, or even lack sufficient zeal in agreement.

Oh, dear!  Fear for their livelihoods if they misspeak as in un-woke!

JK Rowling, one of the signatories, has been canceled for a tweet.  Bari Weiss, another signatory, has drawn ire in a NYT “civil” war. For that matter all ‘two hundred’ will be canceled because they are speaking up against the cancel culture.

Evelyn Beatrice Hall, in The Friends of Voltaire, coined the phrase: I disagree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.  

The ‘two hundred’ fear the axiom of the left today: We disagree with what you say — so stop it, or you’ll get “canceled.”

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Oh, Dear! 

Epilog (only minutes after this blog was posted)

Already two signatories have had second thoughts and asked to have their names removed from the letter because they have issues with some of the other signatories.  They contend the letter contains “dog whistles” and making “job slightly more difficult…” and “makes me feel less safe…” and “will equate my positions with…” and….  

We have sympathy for Harpers –they may be canceled for posting an anti-canceling letter. 

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The “200” was more like “150” — I was too lazy to count the names when the letter first came out. Now, since several have had second thoughts or have been canceled, the number is less.

Fear. These thugs are after the first amendment to our United States Constitution. You may only speak in terms they deem acceptable.

Fear.