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Matter of Opinion

Is It Time to Cancel Cancel Culture?

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.27.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 March 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Whether it’s Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss or Roseanne, allegations of cancel culture seem to have a regular spot among the trending topics of the internet. Almost every other week, someone’s cancellation becomes the subject of prominent discussion on Twitter, Substack and cable news. Yet its exact meaning is up for debate. What counts as a cancellation? Who gets to decide? On today’s episode, we argue over what being canceled means and if it’s time to get rid of the idea entirely. Robby Soave, a senior editor for Reason, has been sounding the alarm about cancel culture. And he wrote a piece about our other guest, Will Wilkinson, titled “Cancel Culture Comes for Will Wilkinson.” Wilkinson was arguably canceled after he wrote a tweet that led to his firing from the Niskanen Center, where he was the vice president for research. But he thinks the label of cancel culture is misleading, even when it’s used in his defense. Referenced in this episode: Read Will Wilkinson’s “Undefined Cancel Game” at his Substack. Robby Soave in Reason: “Cancel Culture Comes for Will Wilkinson” Share your arguments with us: We want to hear what you’re arguing about with your family, your friends and your frenemies. Leave us a voice mail message at (347) 915-4324. We may use excerpts from your audio in a future episode. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Argument" at nytimes.com/the-argument, and you can find Jane on Twitter @janecoaston. “The Argument” is produced by Phoebe Lett, Elisa Gutierrez and Vishakha Darbha and edited by Alison Bruzek and Paula Szuchman; fact-checking by Kate Sinclair; music and sound design by Isaac Jones.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Today on the argument, is it time to cancel cancel culture?

0:10.0

Cancel culture is a recent trend that's seen thousands joining together on social media

0:15.4

to slay giants of the entertainment world for their transgressions.

0:19.4

Social culture is real, it's insane, and it's growing exponentially.

0:47.1

Social culture is a form of censorship that prevents them from saying what they really

0:52.2

think for fear of Twitter coming after them.

0:55.2

Or worse, losing their job.

0:57.6

Or that it unfairly targets the books and movies that we grew up with.

1:01.8

But skeptics say that's not censorship, that's just people facing the consequences of saying

1:06.6

or doing something offensive.

1:08.5

Get caught on video threatening to call the cops in a black man who's that watching birds?

1:12.6

Well, maybe should lose your job.

1:14.9

It's called at will employment after all.

1:19.0

I'm Jane Kostin, and yeah, it's really scary that people come after you, and fling

1:24.3

old tweets at you with the intent of hurting your career.

1:27.1

I've had that happen.

1:28.1

But that's the idea of cancel culture expands, and let's be clear, as cancel culture becomes

1:34.2

a very profitable wedge issue, the phrase becomes more infuriating and easily manipulated.

1:40.7

This week, when Alexi McCammon and teen Vogue parted ways over her racist tweets from 10

1:45.1

years ago, was she canceled?

1:47.6

When an anti-Semite got a speaking slot pulled from CPAC this year, a conference who seemed

1:52.1

for 2021 was America Uncancelled, was he canceled?

...

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