You know who’s not canceled? The endless parade of conservative pundits and politicians complaining about “cancel culture.” You know who is canceled? George Floyd is canceled. Breonna Taylor is canceled. Ma’Khia Bryant is canceled. Andrew Brown Jr. is canceled. They are the true victims in America’s longest-running culture war. Anyone who tells you different is just gaslighting. You want “cancel culture”? America is plagued with cancel culture. And no one is more American than conservatives, as they never cease reminding you.
Despite earlier boutique appeal, the term “cancel culture” had only faintly registered with the broader public before the July Fourth holiday last year (Google trends), when then-President Donald Trump gave a speech at Mount Rushmore, warning of “a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for,” and saying that his opponents’ “political weapons” included ”cancel culture’ — driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees.”
It was a ludicrous accusation coming from the man who’s signature line — “You’re fired!” — was the quintessential expression of actually-existing cancel culture. More recently, Trump had been the main driver of the cancellation of NFL Colin Kaepernick, demanding not just that the NFL quarterback be fired, but driven from the country. That absurdity prompted CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale to post a list of people or institutions Trump had called out to cancel on Twitter over the years, ranging from corporations like AT&T, Apple and Macy’s to newspapers like the Dallas Morning News and the Arizona Republic to liberal commentators like Paul Krugman and Touré and even conservatives like Karl Rove, Rich Lowry, Charles Krauthammer and Jonah Goldberg. Continue reading.