I really appreciate you taking the time to outline your opinion. You’ve given me a lot to think about, especially regarding the way individual actors distract attention from the collective.

To be clear, I never said cancelling people is the answer to all problems. As you noted, a diversity of opinions is important for society to thrive. We can, as individuals, personally cancel people we no longer wish to support, whether through our attention or our dollars, or the dollars that our attention/data can purchase. Capitalism has made so many people desire to become “brands,” and those brands demand to be noticed.

I’m not advocating for thought police or authoritarianism, but I don’t think dehumanizing language is ever ok. Misogyny and other hateful attitudes perpetuate the idea that some people are less worthy, or their lives more valuable, than others. That’s the attitude that authoritarians stoke during their rise to power. Those statements, ones that actively dismiss the worth of other people, whether for the color of their skin or their gender identity or whatever, are the ones worth cancelling people over, as are statements that can cause physical harm to others. If the “woke mob” calls someone out for saying racist, misogynistic, homophobic crap and they double down, (as the perpetrator is apt to do), then it’s best to cancel (as you pointed out, stop paying attention to them / watching their movies / supporting their work and move on to a better use of your time).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.