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Cancel Culture, is it over?

133 replies

B0xes · 12/01/2025 11:56

AIBU to think that the vibe has shifted? I think it has, something about Trudeau standing down seems to confirm this.

But I know there are still people (often those trying to engage in it) who say it never even was a thing. Was it?

Maybe it's still in full force. But it feels like something has changed. Does it take a while for everyone to realise?

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Thepurplepig · 12/01/2025 21:25

I wouldn’t say it’s ended but being liberal will now pretty much end your business. Budlight and for example and about time too. There is only the uk lagging behind but we will soon catch up when everybody gets bored of having no money. Every liberal government is being removed one by one. Woke is over, cancel culture not so much.

lostinthememory · 12/01/2025 21:23

@B0xes the thing is, the right wing ones often fail.

For example trying to boycott boots because they had a black woman in their Christmas advert didn't go very far. Or boycotting Costa because they had a flag on a store that could've been viewed to be trans friendly. Or cancelling the other countless brands.

B0xes · 12/01/2025 21:21

OneLemonDog · 12/01/2025 21:18

"Cancel culture" is when left wing outrage (and sometimes related boycotts) leads to someone's career or business being impacted.

The right wing do it too, but that's (apparently) okay. It's (apparently) only cancel culture if the left do it.

Do you have any examples of right wing cancellings? I'm not saying it hasn't happened. Some say the Fosters boycott was an example of this, do you agree? The left have had the power to do it where the right didn't

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OneLemonDog · 12/01/2025 21:18

"Cancel culture" is when left wing outrage (and sometimes related boycotts) leads to someone's career or business being impacted.

The right wing do it too, but that's (apparently) okay. It's (apparently) only cancel culture if the left do it.

B0xes · 12/01/2025 21:07

Lambington · 12/01/2025 20:34

No - it was never a thing. Just a fabricated nonsense concocted by the right wing press which they have now got bored with as it no longer serves them. Just like " political correctness" and "health and safety gone mad" before it.

How would you describe what happened to Kathleen Stock then. Are you saying nothing happened that could be categorised under any kind of social phenomenon or that what she suffered was fully justified.

I'm curious, because I genuinely believe people who deny "cancel culture" in broad terms are either naive/ignorant or are lying. And I'd like to think something more charitable than that.

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Skiptogetfit · 12/01/2025 20:54

I have lots of friends loathe JK Rowling. Thry cannot come up with one example of what she has said that’s anti-trans. They just spout things that she has said which are all about protecting women’s safe spaces from biological men, which when she’s a rape survivor herself I can see why she feels strongly. And as a women and a mother of girls, I thank fuck we have her going into bat for our safety.

Judellie · 12/01/2025 20:51

Everybody I know loves JK Rowling, except for one person

AlisonDonut · 12/01/2025 20:39

PureGypsyGold · 12/01/2025 20:10

Really? I don't know anyone who has a positive opinion of her.

Really? What is it you think she has done to warrant this?

Lambington · 12/01/2025 20:34

No - it was never a thing. Just a fabricated nonsense concocted by the right wing press which they have now got bored with as it no longer serves them. Just like " political correctness" and "health and safety gone mad" before it.

B0xes · 12/01/2025 20:31

tailinthejam · 12/01/2025 19:41

It's a free country so I can post on whatever threads I like. My first post was asking you to explain what you were talking about, which is not weird behaviour at all. You didn't. Not to my satisfaction, anyway.

hth

OK. It's a bit unfair that you are asking me to explain something to you that you have also declared a complete disinterest in. That's rude and insulting.

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Livinginaclock · 12/01/2025 20:18

PureGypsyGold · 12/01/2025 20:10

Really? I don't know anyone who has a positive opinion of her.

What do those people think she did wrong?

PureGypsyGold · 12/01/2025 20:10

Compash · 12/01/2025 15:47

And they've been trying like hell to cancel J K Rowling, but the lady's not for cancelling...

✊

Really? I don't know anyone who has a positive opinion of her.

PureGypsyGold · 12/01/2025 20:06

biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 17:58

Oh, just to avoid doubt. Racism is a serious and very real problem, as is black people being disproportionately targetted/killed by police especially in America. It was really important to have a discussion about that. What happened was the discussion quickly became hijacked (partly as a result of people's real anger) byt people who just enjoyed discord/winning arguments or actively wanted to derail discussions. The grooming scandal was also very serious and its very important to be able to discuss it.... oh, you know where I am going with this.
But, either way if expressing an opinion on e.g. Twitter instantly leads to death and rape threats on Twitter and that is allowed, then no-one really has free speech on Twitter.

Of course they have free speech. As do the people giving them death threats.

To be cancelled would be to just be kicked off twitter for saying things people don't want you to say.

tailinthejam · 12/01/2025 19:41

B0xes · 12/01/2025 18:25

So what on earth did you bother coming into a thread to declare this for? You've posted a couple of times to tell us this, it's weird behaviour

It's a free country so I can post on whatever threads I like. My first post was asking you to explain what you were talking about, which is not weird behaviour at all. You didn't. Not to my satisfaction, anyway.

hth

B0xes · 12/01/2025 19:25

biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 18:56

Yes,

But Musk also believes he is on the right side of history. The way you have been describing the issue around "cancel culture" also shows you see yourself on the side of "good" versus "woke". And that what is happening now is the REAL right side of history (that coincidentally happens to be all the things you support) is gaining ground now at last. The world is more complicated than that. And now I shall retire and cry my liberal tears.

Hmm I suppose you're right. I don't actually want the counter forces to become hegemonic but I have been so psychologically wounded by one side of this I would be lying if I didn't feel full of fury and vegance. I hope this feeling wears off before I get sucked too far off into it. However, when you talk of things being more "complicated than that", I fear they might not be. There is no truth, there is no 'right side', just warring factions of which one must pick one. The friend enemy distinction is all that really matters when that's what those with power believe.

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OneLemonDog · 12/01/2025 19:22

The Freedom Convoy was a prolonged and illegal protest, that resulted in billions of dollars of damage to Canada's economy - damage that worsened with each passing day that it was allowed to persist. They also, essentially, harassed a whole city for weeks on end.

There was a reluctance to disburse the convoy by force due to the perceived risk of violence. Notwithstanding that trucks themselves could be used as weapons, a small portion of the "protestors" were stockiping guns, ammunition and other combat gear.

Much of the convoy was funded by groups from outside of Canada (mainly in the US). Cutting off access to their bank accounts put a stop to that, and forced a peaceful end to the process.

Even though a section of the public were sympathetic to the convoys concerns, few in Canada supported their actions.

During the same period in the UK, the Conservatives were passing laws to restrict the right to protest - but I never saw anyone call that "cancel culture".

And you can absolutely guarantee that if Just Stop Oil somehow occupied London for a period of weeks, whilst also blockacading the channel tunnel, costing the economy billions, and some within their ranks were amassing a weapons, all while being funded by donations coming from outside of the UK, the sort of British people who were critical of Trudeau's response to the convoy wouldn't be whinging about "cancel culture" if the government stepped in.

OneLemonDog · 12/01/2025 19:02

Equating Trudeau's response to the "Freedom Convoy" to cancel culture is nuts.

biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 18:56

B0xes · 12/01/2025 18:41

I disagree. Plenty of people are opting out of academia because of the culture there. These are absolutely thoughtful, intelligent people who care. What this leaves are many sadists who believe they are on the right side of history to shape our policies going forward. I think parallel competing institutions will rise around them - I certainly hope they will.

Yes,

But Musk also believes he is on the right side of history. The way you have been describing the issue around "cancel culture" also shows you see yourself on the side of "good" versus "woke". And that what is happening now is the REAL right side of history (that coincidentally happens to be all the things you support) is gaining ground now at last. The world is more complicated than that. And now I shall retire and cry my liberal tears.

B0xes · 12/01/2025 18:41

biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 17:51

2020: "This celebrity is racist" "I don't think its racist" "Denying racism is racism. You are a racist . Anyway the most important thing is drawing attention to the issue, not whether what I am specifically saying is true"

2025: "Jess Phillips is a rape genocide apologist" "Thats not fair" "I can't believe you don't care about grooming gangs. This is just another example of how sick the left is, you would cover it all up if you could. At least Elon is drawing attention to the issue even if he is talking nonsense just to be decisive"

I could give lots of other examples...

What has happened is the US election etc has persuaded a new group of people that they are now in charge of the drama triangle. This is mostly online based. For people who just generally care about policies/making thigs better who gets to be in charge of castigating others isn't the most important thing.

I disagree. Plenty of people are opting out of academia because of the culture there. These are absolutely thoughtful, intelligent people who care. What this leaves are many sadists who believe they are on the right side of history to shape our policies going forward. I think parallel competing institutions will rise around them - I certainly hope they will.

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B0xes · 12/01/2025 18:27

Maddy70 · 12/01/2025 12:54

Literally no idea what you're talking about

Maybe need a separate thread on debanking then

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B0xes · 12/01/2025 18:25

tailinthejam · 12/01/2025 12:14

I have what can only be described as a complete lack of interest in the topic.

So what on earth did you bother coming into a thread to declare this for? You've posted a couple of times to tell us this, it's weird behaviour

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biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 17:58

Oh, just to avoid doubt. Racism is a serious and very real problem, as is black people being disproportionately targetted/killed by police especially in America. It was really important to have a discussion about that. What happened was the discussion quickly became hijacked (partly as a result of people's real anger) byt people who just enjoyed discord/winning arguments or actively wanted to derail discussions. The grooming scandal was also very serious and its very important to be able to discuss it.... oh, you know where I am going with this.
But, either way if expressing an opinion on e.g. Twitter instantly leads to death and rape threats on Twitter and that is allowed, then no-one really has free speech on Twitter.

biscuitandcake · 12/01/2025 17:51

2020: "This celebrity is racist" "I don't think its racist" "Denying racism is racism. You are a racist . Anyway the most important thing is drawing attention to the issue, not whether what I am specifically saying is true"

2025: "Jess Phillips is a rape genocide apologist" "Thats not fair" "I can't believe you don't care about grooming gangs. This is just another example of how sick the left is, you would cover it all up if you could. At least Elon is drawing attention to the issue even if he is talking nonsense just to be decisive"

I could give lots of other examples...

What has happened is the US election etc has persuaded a new group of people that they are now in charge of the drama triangle. This is mostly online based. For people who just generally care about policies/making thigs better who gets to be in charge of castigating others isn't the most important thing.

TheKeatingFive · 12/01/2025 15:59

HappyPanda613 · 12/01/2025 12:31

I have been very disappointed in the gender critical movement, though I won’t go to bat against them here because I understand this place is a bit of a gender critical fortress. All I’ll say is that, it sort of shattered the illusion I had that bigotry was exclusively the realm of white men.

Why on earth do you think women who say that material reality matters are 'bigoted'? Seems an extraordinary position to take.

LittleMyLittle · 12/01/2025 15:50

ThDanielDay · 12/01/2025 14:40

So with the decade long cancel culture war, which famous or powerful people have been cancelled?

Famous and powerful people usually aren't the primary targets and this is, I think, a huge reason why it's such a problem.

Moderately well-known people are more vulnerable because they are in the public eye but lack a lot of the fame and power which insulates them. Someone like Jesse Singal is going to be far worse affected by libel and dox attempts than an A-list celebrity who can afford the best legal protection.

But most of the targets of these kind of campaigns are simply everyday people, and an enormous percentage are from socially disadvantaged groups. Many are women, or working class, or from minority ethnic groups or religions. They tend to get hit with much more force and vitriol than well-known white men - horrific slurs, threats of SA, and other verbal abuse that is very specific to that which makes them socially vulnerable.

The people driving these harassment campaigns are usually cowards and bullies. They primarily go after vulnerable people they think they can intimidate into capitulation. From my observations, they also tend to go after people for the written word rather than people who are more physically dangerous, and protect white men who say all the right things.

I'm young and female, and I refuse to have much of an online presence (even one where I don't speak on controversial topics) because the risk to my offline identity and safety just isn't worth it.