I think the trouble with this analysis is, 'mainstream' doesn't mean what we think it means. Most people do not care about, for example, what jokes Kevin Hart t

I think the trouble with this analysis is, 'mainstream' doesn't mean what we think it means. Most people do not care about, for example, what jokes Kevin Hart told ten years ago. Mores change, tastes differ, and mainstream society gets that. It's actually a tiny minority that want nothing to do with others on the basis of incautious speech, especially after that much time. But when nine people don't really care about something and the tenth feels strongly about it, that person will get their way. That is a great natural defence against mob rule and stagnation. But it does not mean that most people share the sentiment of the intolerant minority. To address your example of you and your boss, in most cases it's more as though your boss doesn't care what you said, but someone shows up to your place of work and makes them care by being more unpleasant than the consequences of firing you. It's the old paradox of the tolerant society writ large. I think the 'cancel culture' narrative is the early stages of mainstream culture working out where to draw a border around what accommodations an intolerant minority can and cannot expect of the majority.