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Rowan Atkinson: cancel culture is 'medieval mob looking for someone to burn'

32 points by dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago

toyg 6y ago
For context: Rowan Atkinson is famously a Tory, the whole family is very right-wing. His brother was a prominent member of the UK Independence Party, the original brexiters - a fairly unsavoury organization containing a lot of racists. Rowan’s activism on these issues of free speech is not particularly new either: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowan_Atkinson&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop#Political_activism https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowan_Atkinson&mo...
- 1_player 6y ago
  Given the first paragraph, you should also make clear that he is a proponent of free speech. Because it sounds like you want to say the opposite. And it does not provide any context, just a veiled attempt of saying what, exactly? Tory or Labour, cancel culture is a mob looking for blood. Let's discuss the topic at hand, not whether the speaker is in the black or white camp.
- ThrowawayR2 6y ago
  Reading the Wikipedia link, most of his activism seems to be aimed at being able to allow comedy with religious aspects ("...they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts") and the ability to poke fun at people in general ("...which aims to reform or repeal Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, particularly its statement that an insult can be grounds for arrest and punishment."). Please explain what parts of his activism are we are supposed to be troubled by since those of us who are not in the UK don't have the background to know.
- Dma54rhs 6y ago
  What's wrong with him being a Tory? And he is not responsible for what his brother or sister is doing. This is the sick American University style social justice he is fighting against and more power to him, things are changing in the EU also because liberal or conservative, everyone's sick and tired of it.
- esotericn 6y ago
  So your point here is that... we should ignore his views on free speech (e.g. he should be 'cancelled') because you don't like his other views? You do realise that ~40% of Brits are Tories? What does his brother have to do with anything? I don't know what my siblings' political leanings are at all!
- snicker7 6y ago
  This post proves Rowan point exactly.
- toyg 6y ago
  The rabid replies to this entirely-factual comment, projecting a bunch of stuff I never said or implied, is a story in itself. I never said his views have to be “discounted” because he’s a Tory, I just added context in terms of the ideological positions he moves from when elaborating his argument, in case people were not aware. This sort of issue doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
kar5pt 6y ago
The problem with people complaining about "cancel culture" isn't that cancel culture is good, it's that it's not that big of a deal. We have climate change, growing inequality, migrant crises, and (in the US) lack of access to healthcare and housing. But conservatives who don't want to deal with these problems can distract the masses by talking about pseudo-problems like "cancel culture". As if a few celebrities being harassed on Twitter is the most important problem in 2021.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
  It's one of these issues that don't seem to be a big deal until they affect you personally.
gdbored 6y ago
Is this talking about a specific incident of someone being "cancelled"? I struggle to think of who has actually been a victim of this.

32 points by dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago

toyg 6y ago

For context: Rowan Atkinson is famously a Tory, the whole family is very right-wing. His brother was a prominent member of the UK Independence Party, the original brexiters - a fairly unsavoury organization containing a lot of racists. Rowan’s activism on these issues of free speech is not particularly new either: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowan_Atkinson&mobileaction=toggle_view_desktop#Political_activism https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rowan_Atkinson&mo...

1_player 6y ago
Given the first paragraph, you should also make clear that he is a proponent of free speech. Because it sounds like you want to say the opposite. And it does not provide any context, just a veiled attempt of saying what, exactly? Tory or Labour, cancel culture is a mob looking for blood. Let's discuss the topic at hand, not whether the speaker is in the black or white camp.
ThrowawayR2 6y ago
Reading the Wikipedia link, most of his activism seems to be aimed at being able to allow comedy with religious aspects ("...they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts") and the ability to poke fun at people in general ("...which aims to reform or repeal Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, particularly its statement that an insult can be grounds for arrest and punishment."). Please explain what parts of his activism are we are supposed to be troubled by since those of us who are not in the UK don't have the background to know.
Dma54rhs 6y ago
What's wrong with him being a Tory? And he is not responsible for what his brother or sister is doing. This is the sick American University style social justice he is fighting against and more power to him, things are changing in the EU also because liberal or conservative, everyone's sick and tired of it.
esotericn 6y ago
So your point here is that... we should ignore his views on free speech (e.g. he should be 'cancelled') because you don't like his other views? You do realise that ~40% of Brits are Tories? What does his brother have to do with anything? I don't know what my siblings' political leanings are at all!
snicker7 6y ago
This post proves Rowan point exactly.
toyg 6y ago
The rabid replies to this entirely-factual comment, projecting a bunch of stuff I never said or implied, is a story in itself. I never said his views have to be “discounted” because he’s a Tory, I just added context in terms of the ideological positions he moves from when elaborating his argument, in case people were not aware. This sort of issue doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

kar5pt 6y ago

The problem with people complaining about "cancel culture" isn't that cancel culture is good, it's that it's not that big of a deal. We have climate change, growing inequality, migrant crises, and (in the US) lack of access to healthcare and housing. But conservatives who don't want to deal with these problems can distract the masses by talking about pseudo-problems like "cancel culture". As if a few celebrities being harassed on Twitter is the most important problem in 2021.

dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
It's one of these issues that don't seem to be a big deal until they affect you personally.

gdbored 6y ago

Is this talking about a specific incident of someone being "cancelled"? I struggle to think of who has actually been a victim of this.