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Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? Us folks on the liberal left end of the spectrum can't complain about the right for employing cancel c

Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? Us folks on the liberal left end of the spectrum can't complain about the right for employing cancel culture tactics, yet use the same tactics hypocritically. Not only that, if this isn't cancel culture and/or this needs to serve as the one exception, would we not also be required to go for the full nuclear option and stop using not only the GPL family of licenses, but all software that refuses to migrate off said licenses? Merely asking the FSF board to stand down is a meaningless gesture, as the entire foundation would need to cease to exist as it shall always be under rms's shadow. Cancel culture is a dangerous thing, and shouldn't be tolerated in any liberal community that intends to protect the rights of individuals using ideals such as Freedom and Free Speech. Note: Although I dislike how RMS conducts himself in person from time to time, that isn't a good reason to shove him under the bus. He makes arguments with zero tact, but does not make arguments made in bad faith. He clearly is somewhere on the Autism spectrum, and most likely was never diagnosed due to proper diagnosis not being invented until his 20s, and proper treatment not being invented until his 40s. The community needs to make sure we don't become some violent revolution that turns around and eats our own because its convenient.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> Us folks on the liberal left end of the spectrum can't complain about the right for employing cancel culture tactics Except in pointing out the hypocrisy of the right, no one on the left is accusing anyone using the right-wing ”cancel culture” buzzword (which differentiates it from the old-standard “political correctness” that it replaced, which was used in internecine disputes within the left before being adopted by the right, but even that was never generally deployed against the right even though they used the same tactics; pretending that the main flow is the other way around reads like false-flag concern trolling.
- DiabloD3 6y ago
  That didn't actually answer my question. I am maybe one of the furthest left regulars on the HN, and I'm concerned that this open letter is not being made in good faith. I don't care about the etymology of the phrase, it is just the most apt description used by current internet culture. We called it something else before it was named cancel culture, and we shall name it something else in the future, as we shall with all other things. Your red herring does not answer my question.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > That didn't actually answer my question Yeah, that's why I didn't quote your question but instead the argument suggesting the question had any relevance, which is what I disagreed with.
- skissane 6y ago
  > Except in pointing out the hypocrisy of the right, no one on the left is accusing anyone using the right-wing ”cancel culture” buzzword Not everyone who believes there is a problem with "cancel culture" is on the right. Some people on the left (e.g. [0]) believe that there is a real problem being described by that term, and that the term's popularity with the right is not a reason why people on the left should reject it. Of course, left-wing believers in "cancel culture" don't necessarily agree with every example of it cited by right-wing believers in it, but there is definitely some overlap in cases–for example, the article I'm linking cites a Latino truck driver being fired for making the "OK" sign as a case which was criticised as "cancel culture" by people on both the left and the right. [0] https://arcdigital.media/the-whispered-left-wing-dissent-on-cancel-culture-234d0aaa9107 https://arcdigital.media/the-whispered-left-wing-dissent-on-...
teddyh 6y ago
> Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? What I increasingly hear are definite assertions that there is no such thing as “cancel culture”, only people’s actions having consequences. Also, following naturally from this, anyone then using the term “cancel culture” is therefore also subject to said “consequences”.
cforrester 6y ago
> Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? If the definition of the nebulous concept of 'cancel culture' is so broad as to encompass disassociating ourselves from a person we consider heinous, and encouraging others to do the same, then I'm not sure there's any value in the concept to begin with. It's hard to argue that we should all limit how we use our freedom of association so that someone else may occupy a position that they are not entitled to.
salawat 6y ago
>Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? I'd look forward to hearing that, bit I wager the answer is no. You can call a pile of feces a rose, and it doesn't change the nature of what the pile of feces is I'd like to thank you, and invite you out for a beer or the drink of your preference if you're ever in my neighborhood however, because you sound like one of the precious few sensible folks that actually project political action through past it's first order consequences to the inevitable conclusion. It's rare enough at times that it's nice to call out when it happens, even in passing.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> Us folks on the liberal left end of the spectrum can't complain about the right for employing cancel culture tactics Except in pointing out the hypocrisy of the right, no one on the left is accusing anyone using the right-wing ”cancel culture” buzzword (which differentiates it from the old-standard “political correctness” that it replaced, which was used in internecine disputes within the left before being adopted by the right, but even that was never generally deployed against the right even though they used the same tactics; pretending that the main flow is the other way around reads like false-flag concern trolling.

DiabloD3 6y ago
That didn't actually answer my question. I am maybe one of the furthest left regulars on the HN, and I'm concerned that this open letter is not being made in good faith. I don't care about the etymology of the phrase, it is just the most apt description used by current internet culture. We called it something else before it was named cancel culture, and we shall name it something else in the future, as we shall with all other things. Your red herring does not answer my question.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > That didn't actually answer my question Yeah, that's why I didn't quote your question but instead the argument suggesting the question had any relevance, which is what I disagreed with.
skissane 6y ago
> Except in pointing out the hypocrisy of the right, no one on the left is accusing anyone using the right-wing ”cancel culture” buzzword Not everyone who believes there is a problem with "cancel culture" is on the right. Some people on the left (e.g. [0]) believe that there is a real problem being described by that term, and that the term's popularity with the right is not a reason why people on the left should reject it. Of course, left-wing believers in "cancel culture" don't necessarily agree with every example of it cited by right-wing believers in it, but there is definitely some overlap in cases–for example, the article I'm linking cites a Latino truck driver being fired for making the "OK" sign as a case which was criticised as "cancel culture" by people on both the left and the right. [0] https://arcdigital.media/the-whispered-left-wing-dissent-on-cancel-culture-234d0aaa9107 https://arcdigital.media/the-whispered-left-wing-dissent-on-...

teddyh 6y ago

> Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? What I increasingly hear are definite assertions that there is no such thing as “cancel culture”, only people’s actions having consequences. Also, following naturally from this, anyone then using the term “cancel culture” is therefore also subject to said “consequences”.

cforrester 6y ago

> Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? If the definition of the nebulous concept of 'cancel culture' is so broad as to encompass disassociating ourselves from a person we consider heinous, and encouraging others to do the same, then I'm not sure there's any value in the concept to begin with. It's hard to argue that we should all limit how we use our freedom of association so that someone else may occupy a position that they are not entitled to.

salawat 6y ago

>Can someone explain to me how this is not cancel culture? I'd look forward to hearing that, bit I wager the answer is no. You can call a pile of feces a rose, and it doesn't change the nature of what the pile of feces is I'd like to thank you, and invite you out for a beer or the drink of your preference if you're ever in my neighborhood however, because you sound like one of the precious few sensible folks that actually project political action through past it's first order consequences to the inevitable conclusion. It's rare enough at times that it's nice to call out when it happens, even in passing.