Read on Twitter
Not sure how I feel about the latest example of "cancel culture." A children's author added "I stand with JK Rowling" to her twitter bio and her publisher dropped her. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8490821/Best-selling-childrens-author-sacked-posting-hashtag-stand-JK-Rowling-Twitter.html
This is straightforwardly transphobic. TERF-ism is a fringe view and readers of children's books tend to be progressive. Publishing houses should be able to drop authors who make public statements that will affect sales, no?
I would be incensed if this woman had been fired for adding, say, "Black Lives Matter" to her twitter bio. But also, it would be unlikely to affect her sales in the children's book market. Firing her over BLM would have been an ideological decision rather than a business decision
I think one of the major problems with this discourse is that we collapse the distinction between public figures and civilians. If some random accountant had been fired for supporting JK Rowling, I probably would think that was silly.
This person, however, is a well-known children's author. Her tweets are public statements. She could have expressed her support for JK Rowling in private with no consequences. She chose to take a political position she knew would be unpopular among her readers.
I feel uncomfortable arguing that employers should be able to fire workers for their political views, but I don't think that's the situation here. Part of becoming a public figure means keeping some opinions private — and expecting consequences if you decide to make them public.
