Read on Twitter
I know it’s sheer madness to be advancing this on Twitter (and she wrote/spoke very generously about me, so I’m biased), but @johannaleggatt has nailed it on the threat this platform & cancel culture pose to art, journalism, debate, inquiry, transparency & independence of thought
Here’s her @AustBookReview piece: https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/878-commentary/6888-the-problem-of-belonging-the-twitter-mob-is-a-threat-to-writers-and-journalists-by-johanna-leggatt
Credit also to @ABCReligion’s Andrew West for an excellent interview on the article: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Anh9CWLVLluLZJz9f6KdBX?domain=abc.net.au
Some quotes from Leggatt in the the interview in the next few tweets:
Some quotes from Leggatt in the the interview in the next few tweets:
“I don't think it’s overstating it too much to say that there are very clear ideas of what is permissible (on Twitter), what phrases are permissible, what ideas can be advanced. Once those are not adhere to, the reaction is fierce.”
“Of course, if you're a writer on Twitter, if you're a journalist on Twitter, and you're perhaps advancing a range of ideas ... ideally you would be, you'd have a healthy skepticism towards tribal values and ideas. This can land you in a lot of hot water.”
“I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to belong in the community, to have certain articles of faith, tenets, beliefs, but what happens on Twitter is they become compromised and calcified and there's no room to countenance an opposing view or any divergent opinion.”
“There is no denying that some quite prominent writers see Twitter as the editor of journalists and the inner critic that is internalized in writers’ lives ...”
“...And if you do that, if you worry excessively how things will play out, how will this sound, it can deaden the writing, it will flatten the writing, & you end up with a culture where nothing original is being expressed and nothing imaginative is brought forth into the world.”
And quite rightly Leggatt cites this argument from the only bloke from Wang whose views I’m happy to take as Gospel (actually I won’t take anyone’s views as Gospel, which is kind of the point, but he’s right about this): https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/12/nick-cave-political-correctness-bad-religion-run-amuck-cancel-culture
