Cancel Culture & Free Speech

I came across a tweet last night while reading replies to the screenshots of the disgusting remarks make about the death of Elvia Ramirez that I thought was worth sharing. It said, “freedom of speech does not protect you from the consequences of that speech”.

Falling back on “free speech” as a defense when someone says something and doesn’t like the consequences demonstrates a complete ignorance of what free speech actually means. As the tweet says, crying “free speech” does not shield you from the publicly enforced consequences of that speech, it’s a defense from government censorship.

Here are my thoughts on cancel culture: cancel culture is generally harmful to society, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to cancel people for things that they

1. Sincerely apologized for

2. Said or did more than two or three years before

3. Said out of context

That said, actions have consequences, and so does speech.

Here’s the point: if you say something egregiously bigoted, racist, or downright hateful, the public has every right to hold you accountable by spreading your name around, informing your employer or educational institutions of your conduct, etc. Whether those entities hold you accountable is their prerogative. Of course, this is case specific and requires nuance, but the public outrage over an action will naturally (in most cases) be proportional with how bad the action was.

Republicans, take note: cancel culture is not as simple as “the left is out to get white men”. If you don’t want to be a victim of cancel culture, state your opinions as respectfully as you can, and ask genuine questions when you don’t understand something. Nobody is perfect, but it doesn’t hurt to try for a little empathy.