[Ads-l] Cancel Culture

Sat Feb 6 02:26:27 UTC 2021

But in neither of these instances does someone (on the left or elsewhere) accuse Trump of practicing cancel culture. I thought the point was the asymmetry: only those on the left, or perceived as being on the left, are accused of practicing cancel culture (or, I would argue, political correctness).

> On Feb 5, 2021, at 8:37 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Although I think the point is likely valid, I did fairly quickly find an example where Donald Trump is cited as calling for subscription cancellations and then decrying cancel culture. 
> 
> A list of people and things Donald Trump tried to get canceled before he railed against 'cancel culture'
> Daniel Dale
> 7 July 2020
> https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/politics/fact-check-trump-cancel-culture-boycotts-firings/index.html <https://exbulletin.com/politics/192610/>
> 
> ###
> President Donald Trump is now campaigning as a warrior against what he says is a left-wing "cancel culture" that seeks to get people punished or banished for supposedly objectionable words or acts.
> 
> …
> 
> July 2013: Trump asks people to "boycott & cancel subscriptions" to Rolling Stone magazine because of a cover featuring Boston Marathon terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
> October 2013: Trump urges "everybody possible" to "cancel their subscription" to New York Magazine over an insulting tweet about Trump's marriage from Dan Amira, who was online editor at the time.
> 
> ###
> 
> Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> 
>> On 5 Feb 2021, at 17:18, Dennis During <dcduring at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Wiktionary's definition isn't too bad, though it also misses the direction
>> of application. I don't think that someone cancelling their NY Times
>> subscription is ever called 'cancel culture'.
>> 
>> (neologism <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#neologism <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#neologism>>,
>> often derogatory <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/derogatory <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/derogatory>>) The cultural
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cultural <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cultural>> phenomenon
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/phenomenon <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/phenomenon>> of publicly shaming
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shame <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shame>>, rejecting
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reject <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reject>>, and ceasing to provide support
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/support <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/support>> to people, companies, stores,
>> etc., deemed unacceptable <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unacceptable <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unacceptable>>,
>> and calling on others to boycott <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boycott <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boycott>>
>> them.
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 8:11 PM Dennis During <dcduring at gmail.com <mailto:dcduring at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>>> I don't think that the term is used equally by all sides. I don't think it
>>> is used pejoratively by social justice advocates (You see what I did
>>> there?). It is used by their critics.
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 2:59 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> 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
> 
> 
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