I honestly believe that there is a huge discussion to be had about free speech and - not "cancel culture" - but rather disposability culture on the left. But this conversation requires far more rigor and specificity beyond "I get to say anything I want!" in order to be useful.

Speech is a powerful thing and in the Information Age, more powerful than ever. Speech - including call outs and dragging, certainly, as well as hate speech - can hurt people. We have to grapple with serious questions: How do we frame acceptable vs unacceptable speech?

Who is most impacted by a chilling or toxic environment that punishes unacceptable speech? It's generally not bestselling authors with vast platforms. It's poor & vulnerable people who lose access to livelihoods & sanity.

How do we best respond to speech that is deeply offensive or controversial in public? How do we hold the reality that changing times mean different ethical norms, which changes how we view speech from that past?

The idea that certain people are intellectual "luminaries," which makes them important & thus immune to public criticism disguises the fact that "freedom of speech" has historically been a "free speech for all, but some are freer than others" proposition.

I honestly am very disappointed about the open letter because it is a missed opportunity to open a vital conversation about how we relate to each other in the public sphere. The letter could have said, "we need an entirely new way of talking about free expression."

And if that is what some of the signatories meant to say, I wish they would stand by it & actually have a dialogue! I am terrified all the time about disposability culture. I've seen people made homeless by it & driven mad by it. They are not, generally, moneyed intellectuals

Trans woman playwright Nina Arsenault once said: "I believe you can be witnessed to death." I still think about this all the time - it's those of us who already live on the edge who experience the brutal edge of surveillance & "canceling" bc we were always meant to be canceled