[Ads-l] Cancel Culture

[Laurence Horn]

Yes, but as a self-conscious attempt at a kind of metalinguistic anti-reclamation, essentially underlining the asymmetry: 
> But in this case, it was the right wing doing the
> canceling


LH

> On Feb 6, 2021, at 10:38 AM, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Below is a 2019 New York Times article containing the phrase
> "right-wing cancel culture" and a 2020 Newsweek article containing the
> phrase "Conservatives Weaponize Cancel Culture".
> 
> The term cancelled has been applied to Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson.
> Both have been accused of engaging in abusive behavior toward their
> partners.
> 
> At the 2017 Glastonbury Festival Johnny Depp said "When was the last
> time an actor assassinated a president? It’s been awhile, and maybe
> it’s time." (This quotation appears in the Newsweek article.) So he is
> not a friend of Trump.
> 
> These examples are offered in an attempt to help reveal the varied
> contexts of the terms "cancel" and "cancel culture".
> 
> Website: The New York Times
> Article: Opinion: Why Kathy Griffin Will Not Stand Down
> Article Subtitle: Two years after the comedian’s infamous Trump photo,
> she’s back — battered but unbowed by right-wing cancel culture.
> Author: Jennifer Finney Boylan (Contributing Opinion Writer)
> Date: July 31, 2019
> (See article subtitle for instance)
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/opinion/why-kathy-griffin-will-not-stand-down.html
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> This story is about more than a comedian and a disturbing photograph.
> It’s about what America has become: a place where in the wake of a
> single mistake, a career can be canceled, a place where the president
> of the United States can happily use the power of his office to
> destroy an American citizen.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> We think of so-called cancel culture as an excess of the left. (The
> author Meghan Daum, in reacting to the movement, says, “Woke me when
> it’s over.”) But in this case, it was the right wing doing the
> canceling, with the not-inconsiderable muscle of the Department of
> Justice added in for good measure.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> 
> 
> Website: Newsweek
> Article: Conservatives Weaponize Cancel Culture to Tame Anti-Trump Celebrities
> Author: Emma Nolan
> Timestamp: 6/24/20 AT 11:21 AM EDT
> (See article title for instance)
> 
> https://www.newsweek.com/conservatives-weaponize-cancel-culture-tame-anti-trump-celebrities-1513041
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> Cancel culture. It's here, it's happening and it seems like every day,
> there are calls to cancel more famous faces on social media—but not
> always from the voices you would expect.
> 
> In recent weeks in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the
> resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the spotlight has shone
> on the likes of late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon for
> past use of blackface for comedy sketches. And among the multitude of
> voices calling for these celebrities to face consequences for their
> past actions are a number of conservative figures and media outlets.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 9:55 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I'd just call it a "partisan buzzword."
>> 
>> If I were twice as old, I'd call it a "partisan shibboleth" or "partisan
>> slogan."
>> 
>> JL
>> 
>> On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 9:24 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> Is there a term for a buzzword/political label that is overwhelmingly used
>>> by one side in a debate but only has semantic valence in the context of
>>> that debate?
>>> 
>>> The ur-examples may be "pro-life" and "pro-choice," but as has been
>>> pointed out, there are lots of examples.
>>> 
>>> I would distinguish them from words like "patriarcy" or "fascist" which in
>>> the current political context may be mostly used by one side but have a
>>> life of their own outside this context. "Cancel culture" is a term limited
>>> to one faction in our particular political moment.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2021 7:57am
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] Cancel Culture
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The "opposing political view" being suppressed is often "one's own." So the
>>> term is "used opprobriously."
>>> 
>>> JL
>>> 
> 
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