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As I see it, measured reactions against power structures get squashed. Maybe you get a token appeasement that actually changes nothing. It's just too easy for t

As I see it, measured reactions against power structures get squashed. Maybe you get a token appeasement that actually changes nothing. It's just too easy for those in power to make it go away so they logically go that route. Going overboard is the only way to force a reaction other than suppression (not guaranteed of course, you might just get massive suppression instead).

colejohnson66 6y ago
A good example of this is unionization. If a decent chunk of employees are upset about things, but you don’t do anything to alleviate it, they’re more likely to want to unionize so they can force the hand of their employer.
Waterluvian 6y ago
Intuitively I think you’re right. But I also think the side effect of overreaction is that those who disagree can very easily point at it to dismiss the cause’s legitimacy. “Can’t take them seriously at all. They want to cancel everyone and defund everything.”
- marcinzm 6y ago
  True but you generally get to this point where all other lesser options have failed. People are lazy and won't put the effort into mob justice if they see an easier approach. There have been decades of previous issues that simply were swept under the rug. I also don't think public opinion matters when it comes to mob justice. It's background noise. The conversation is between the mob and those in power. If the mob frightens them enough then changes will be made. What those outside the mob think is irrelevant unless they care enough to form their own mob.
  - Waterluvian 6y ago
    I hear you. I wonder though if the amount that the mob frightens the power is affected by public opinion. Especially when it involves politicians.
    - marcinzm 6y ago
      I think some politicians will care but it depends on the specifics of their voter bases. The mob and anti-mob groups tend to split across political lines so for many politicians one or the other are already lost causes. So it's a question of how your expected voter base thinks about the issue and that's likely to be a lot more skewed than the overall population. So even if 50% of the population is anti-mob, if 90% of your political party local voters are pro-mob then you have a reason to listen.
      - krapp 6y ago
        It's less that people are mob or anti-mob so much as pro their mob and anti the other mob. Don't forget that cancel culture is not an entirely left-wing phenomenon. Plenty of the same people who rail against SJWs and leftists cancelling people would have no problems with cancelling Bill Maher, the Dixie Chicks or Colin Kaepernick.

colejohnson66 6y ago

A good example of this is unionization. If a decent chunk of employees are upset about things, but you don’t do anything to alleviate it, they’re more likely to want to unionize so they can force the hand of their employer.

Waterluvian 6y ago

Intuitively I think you’re right. But I also think the side effect of overreaction is that those who disagree can very easily point at it to dismiss the cause’s legitimacy. “Can’t take them seriously at all. They want to cancel everyone and defund everything.”

marcinzm 6y ago
True but you generally get to this point where all other lesser options have failed. People are lazy and won't put the effort into mob justice if they see an easier approach. There have been decades of previous issues that simply were swept under the rug. I also don't think public opinion matters when it comes to mob justice. It's background noise. The conversation is between the mob and those in power. If the mob frightens them enough then changes will be made. What those outside the mob think is irrelevant unless they care enough to form their own mob.
- Waterluvian 6y ago
  I hear you. I wonder though if the amount that the mob frightens the power is affected by public opinion. Especially when it involves politicians.
  - marcinzm 6y ago
    I think some politicians will care but it depends on the specifics of their voter bases. The mob and anti-mob groups tend to split across political lines so for many politicians one or the other are already lost causes. So it's a question of how your expected voter base thinks about the issue and that's likely to be a lot more skewed than the overall population. So even if 50% of the population is anti-mob, if 90% of your political party local voters are pro-mob then you have a reason to listen.
    - krapp 6y ago
      It's less that people are mob or anti-mob so much as pro their mob and anti the other mob. Don't forget that cancel culture is not an entirely left-wing phenomenon. Plenty of the same people who rail against SJWs and leftists cancelling people would have no problems with cancelling Bill Maher, the Dixie Chicks or Colin Kaepernick.