Finally read #thatletter and ... oof. All I see is a group of people who have been or fearing being called out.

No specifics. No substantive critique. No explicit attention to the fact that so-called "cancel culture" is a creation of media elites - not the masses.

What has been branded as "cancel culture" is a mix of two things. Primarily, it is being forced to face the consequences of one's actions; held accountable by those with considerably less structural power than the offending party.

The speech and actions taken by otherwise disenfranchised groups and people, specifically via social media platforms, are nullified without reinforcement in "real" social settings. Who here has the power to revoke the social, political and financial capital of the elite?

Without agreement from others at or above their ranks, the outcry and boycotting either dies out, or it's simply a non-starter.

But I recognize there is a second dimension: The exploitation of the online discourse by bad faith actors (those who harass, threaten, doxx, etc.), and its unintentional reverberation through people/accounts who mention the person/issue in passing.

The overlap of media outlets and professionals on here, primed to look for "news" driven by conflict, unusualness, and prominence (among other factors), creates a perfect storm of amplification.

Whether that amplification is warranted or not.

How, then, to muzzle the "online mob" when it demands you atone for something you've said or done?

Label it. But assign it a label with a spectral quality. One that can't *quite* be pinned down. Call it a form of "culture."

"Culture" is just messy enough that few can directly operationalize exactly what it is they fear. It also invokes memory of enduring ideological battles.

But it's just threatening enough to warrant mounting a real defense. Culture wars, anyone?

Anyway, I'm discussing this in depth in my forthcoming book on #BlackTwitter. Matter of fact, I've been working on this section. So the letter is timely.