I low-key regret making a video about "cancel culture" because I just don't give enough of a shit about it to even have the same rehashed and rebranded conversation we keep having, but I will clarify a few things here:

1/9

- I don't think "cancel culture" is really a thing overall, but I'm not suggesting instances of misplaced outrage don't occur. My critique centers on the alarmist and hysterical nature of cancel culture discourse. It's just a rehash of the PC/SJW debate

2/9

- I don't think there's a "culture" around cancelling.

- The loudest crusaders against cc are usually the biggest hypocrites (e.g. Bari Weiss, Megyn Kelley, etc.) and that should be a crucial component of this discussion if it's to continue.

3/9

- There's an implication that cc is exclusively being driven by the left, and often times, right-wingers get a pass. That's bullshit and we shouldn't let them get away with this. Right-wingers that bemoan cc but ignore Trump's rhetoric on flag desecration is one example.

4/9

- CC discourse is a one-sided fake debate, ironically. Critiquing cc discourse is "proof" that cancel culture is a thing apparently. The line between objective criticism, being offended, or outraged is obscured and thrown into the broad, ambiguous category of "cancelled."

5/9

- Actual instances of being "canceled"--where someone loses their entire livelihood are extremely rare.

- Celebrities, politicians, and elites have co-opted cc rhetoric to avoid criticism and deflect when they're being criticized.

6/9

- The moral component of cancel culture is never discussed. To the extent that cancelling does occur, why isn't the societal good discussed? Isn't it beneficial for society and American culture to "cancel" white supremacists and nazis? Do we want their views normalized?

7/9

- There's a bad faith assumption that people who engage in "cancel culture" are automatically anti-free speech, which is intellectually lazy. Sure, some ppl may go too far, but the fringe elements of groups are often over represented. One dumb tweet that blows up =/= cc.

8/9

- I think cc discourse is largely a distraction, and ppl care too much about it. Can it be a bad look for the left? Yes. But it should also be a bad look for the right, but they've monopolized cc discourse because we've let them.

9/ 9

One more thing. When Chomsky was trending because of Harper’s letter people were just disappointed, but the teeets were like “OMG EVEN CHOMKSY IS CANCELED.” But is he? Has anyone tried to get him fired? Are we just using disappointment as a synonym for cancel? This isn’t defined.