I re-read your original post. You said: Some people are able to honestly assess their past positions and statements, understand why things could be construed

I re-read your original post. You said: Some people are able to honestly assess their past positions and statements, understand why things could be construed as problematic, and make efforts to better themselves. That, and a sense of what conversations are appropriate for public forums versus informal conversation over drinks, act as pretty great cancellation buffers. And yet one of the top examples is someone who had that "great cancellation buffer" and it didn't help him one bit. In another famous example, Emmanuel Cafferty, all the guy did was drive with his hand out the window with absolutely no idea that it resembled a signal used by white power groups. That "great cancellation buffer" didn't help him, either. People feel safe because they don't think it will happen to them. I firmly believe that this shows ignorance of how political purges (which this is) work. Eventually the purge takes on a life of its own and people who started it are often shocked to later find themselves among the victims.