Welcome to Pushback. I'm Aaron Mate. A new open letter signed by a number of prominent pundits

and intellectuals warns of a growing problem with cancel culture. The letter expresses concern

that, quote, a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments are weakening norms of open debate and

toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity.

Join me now is Max Blumenthal, editor of the Grey Zone, author of the Management of Savagery.

Max, you know, nothing to me on the surface wrong with encouraging open debate, but then you

look at the signatories and you have a bunch of people who have been opposed, I think, to the very values they claim to be

defending here. What is your response to this letter? I fully agree with the concept of open debate.

I'm someone who has, and you know, you've faced it too, and we can get into that,

we're people who have faced the brunt

of cancellation or discourse suppression campaigns because we take views that are out of the mainstream,

and I would argue that are actually threatening to the very establishment that these, most of the

figures who signed this letter represent.

I mean, with a few exceptions, very notable exceptions, what you see in this letter is a coalition

of liberals or even what I would call hyper-liberals, which is a definition I'll get into

later, and sort of neo-conservative people, people in the center

right, pro-Israel figures, and they're all coming together because they feel this unprecedented

challenge to their intellectual and political authority. Let's talk about who's on that letter.

I think the issue really comes down to the

hypocrisy of the individuals and the complete lack of self-awareness that brings all of the contradictions

of this sort of failing intellectual establishment in liberal intelligentsia to the surface.

The most obvious example here would be Barry Weiss, who sort of launched her political career

...