3/29/21 To Be, or Not to Be, *Canceled*

A new research poll says that almost two-thirds of Americans believe that a growing cancel culture is a threat to their freedom. On the flip side, 36 percent said the opposite: Nope, not a threat.

At first glance, it would seem that one-third of the respondents are liberals and possibly keen-eyed cancelers, and for each of those, there are two mild-to-massive bigots who fear criticism. But polls never make it that easy.

For one thing, there's no telling what the pollsters mean by "freedom." That word has more tints and tones than a pointillist on the Grande Jatte. Here's a hint about how their respondents see it: 54 percent are afraid they'd be banned or fired if they put their opinions online.

I've personally, and recently, been canceled myself; I made a tactless remark, left town for two days, and came back to around two dozen fully elaborated F-Yous that read as if I'd been videotaped clubbing a starving orphan. I can't imagine how that would feel to someone of a more tender disposition than my own. So there is that threat too.

But back to the poll. It was given shortly after a morning gabbler called "The Talk" threw panel-member Sharon Osbourne out, out into the storm for defending Piers Morgan, another golden-mouthed opinionator who loves the British Royal Family. Cancel culture and job loss were high on respondents' minds, it seems.

Some 36 percent of Americans said cancel culture is a "big problem" and 32 percent called it a "moderate problem." That's not too far from the 64 percent who thought cancel culture was a threat to their freedom. The 20 percent who called it a "small problem" and the 13 percent who said it's "not a problem" wobbles up pretty closely to the 36 percent who don't fear cancel culture as a threat to their freedom.

Pick a side -- fear or no fear, cancel or be cancelled -- because either way, the other side thinks you're part of the problem.

Cancel culture is the response to an unpopular opinion aimed at extinguishing the idea and its source. Is it a good way to ensure that people educate other people on what is and is not racist, sexist, or otherwise illiberal? Or is it just a new variation of stoning a witch in a public square? Have you been a target of cancel culture? Have you been a part of it?

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/545387-64-percent-say-they-view-cancel-culture-as-a-threat-to-their-freedom-poll?fbclid=IwAR2Fr4Gcg_Psdpp4xyClvJYGxolPaaQsZJIKUZdB9JGjfciN1039EM6EUR0&rl=1