[Ads-l] Cancel Culture

Fri Feb 5 19:59:32 UTC 2021

How about "a putative unjust or unethical partisan movement to suppress
opposing political views"?

Getting  closer?

JL

On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 2:50 PM Dennis During <dcduring at gmail.com> wrote:

> If it is predominantly used disparagingly about anything, however vague the
> targets and however unfair the disparagement, then the intent of
> disparagement is part of its meaning, as is the case for 'political
> correctness', 'social justice warrior' ("SJW") and similar terms. Currently
> in the US 'fascism' and its sister terms 'fascist', 'neo-fascist', etc and,
> probably 'communism' and its relatives are similarly predominantly used
> disparagingly. 'Socialism' not so much.
>
> The phenomena disparaged by the use of the term 'cancel culture' seem to
> include principally the boycotts, including secondary boycotts, facilitated
> by social media, of businesses, especially consumer-oriented ones, and of
> entertainment personalities because they are deemed to violate some moral
> imperative, usually under the rubric of 'social justice' (a term which,
> unlike SJW, is not predominantly pejorative). I think both the deeming and
> the boycotting are the objects of the disparagement intended by use of the
> term 'cancel.culture'.
>
> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 2:19 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 5, 2021, at 8:36 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > "Cancel culture" has broadened its meaning to become "a movement to
> > > suppress opposing political views.”
> >
> > Or, as an alternate gloss, ‘a movement to hold individuals accountable
> for
> > their actions and publicly stated views’. To demote a member who has
> > expressed racist threats is not precisely an instance of opposing their
> > political views.
> >
> > I’m also unclear on the scope--Do we really want to classify
> > denazification in Germany (= 'the process of bringing the leaders of the
> > National Socialist regime in Germany to justice and of purging all
> elements
> > of Nazism from public life, carried out especially between 1945 and
> 1948’)
> > merely an instance of cancel culture, i.e. the Allies’ suppressing
> opposing
> > political views? Maybe I’m not sure what “cancel culture” meant before it
> > was broadened; it’s always reminded me of the use of “political
> > correctness” to dismiss or ridicule those protesting hate speech or
> threats
> > of violence.
> >
> > LH
> >
> > >
> > > E.g., from Yahoo! News:
> > >
> > > "The former Trump and Bush adviser said the decision to root out
> > extremism
> > > in the military was 'cancel culture' and then disparaged Mr Biden's
> pick
> > > for Secretary of Defense by claiming he was likely hired solely because
> > he
> > > is Black."
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Wed, Aug 19, 2020 at 2:19 PM Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > >> CNN chyron:
> > >>
> > >> "Trump Wants To Cancel Goodyear."
> > >>
> > >> He wants us to boycott it.
> > >>
> > >> JL
> > >>
> > >> On Fri, Jul 31, 2020 at 10:26 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> > >> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Bill Mullins wrote:
> > >>>> Earlier in Twitter -- Oct 28, 2016:
> > >>>>
> > >>>> https://twitter.com/unicorninkk/status/792025338616418304
> > >>>> "I hate cancel culture until I want to set things on fire! "
> > >>>
> > >>> Worthwhile topic, Fred. Great citation, Bill.
> > >>> I initiated a germane thread back in May 2019.
> > >>>
> > >>> [Ads-l] Word/Phrase: cancel, cancel culture, cancellation culture
> > >>>
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2019-May/154643.html
> > >>>
> > >>> The mailing list message included some tweets with the phrase: "You
> > >>> have been cancelled". The precise meaning was not always clear. The
> > >>> tweet citations begin on Nov 22 2008.
> > >>>
> > >>> Dave Wilton initiated a pertinent thread in February 2020.
> > >>>
> > >>> [Ads-l] Cancel culture, cancel (2018)
> > >>>
> >
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2020-February/156597.html
> > >>>
> > >>> John Baker mentioned the Mashable.com article dated Nov 18, 2017
> which
> > >>> was referenced in a tweet.
> > >>>
> >
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2020-February/156598.html
> > >>>
> > >>> Dave Wilton presented a tweet together with a reply tweet that
> > >>> exhibited the desired sense on Feb 8, 2017.
> > >>>
> >
> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2020-February/156599.html
> > >>> https://twitter.com/DougieFresh818/status/829410105502400513
> > >>> https://twitter.com/chazzsplash/status/829410413091631105
> > >>>
> > >>> The tweet found by Bill Mullins appears to be the earliest currently
> > >>> mentioned on this mailing list.
> > >>>
> > >>> Garson
> > >>>
> > >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> Dennis C. During
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org