For years, the left nurtured cancel culture. Careers were ended, reputations ruined, and lives reshaped over things sometimes said a decade ago. I’m sure if you dig hard enough you can find an example of someone canceled by leftists where it was actually reasonable. But the overwhelming majority was excessive, punitive and heavily politically-biased.
Still, the point was clear and actually has always been true: words have consequences. And while the specific words and consequences might be up for debate, companies now have clear policies in place on what is appropriate to say online. You generally sign documents no one reads before you work somewhere. If you breach a contract you agreed to and are fired, that’s on you.
Fast forward to this past week. Some of the same voices who once cheered frivolous cancellations are now the ones facing pink slips. Their offense? Not ancient and honestly anodyne tweets dug up by digital Karens, but fresh statements: callous, cruel, even celebratory in the wake of someone’s death. In many cases this included outright lies and the promotion of additional violence.
I just had a conversation about this with a friend. They said, “well, it’s freedom of speech.” I said of course it is. They aren’t in jail. The state isn’t prosecuting them (if there was something like an FCC violation or direct individual threat, that might end differently). But freedom of speech has never guaranteed freedom from consequences. Most every company has a social media policy. No brand wants its employees out there encouraging political violence, mocking tragedy, or acting like savages in public. That is certainly not censorship, it is basic decorum. Or as we call it in corporate communications: reputation management, something brands take seriously. Essentially, it means if you fuck around, you will find out.
The reality is obvious, and always has been true: you can say what you want, but you don’t get to control how the world reacts. If you torch your own credibility or image, you don’t get to complain “it’s unfair” when the crowd walks away. If you publicly align your name with cruelty or barbarism, don’t be shocked when your employer decides they don’t want that incivility attached to their brand.
None of this is a conspiracy. It’s not even “woke” or “based.” It’s just how the world functions. A public company can’t be seen as endorsing political violence, terrorism or applauding death. A university can’t have its faculty taking glee in and encouraging bloodshed online. A newsroom can’t let its reporters promote fantasies that undermine their credibility. This is all important, because something like the promotion of violence against others simply because they hold a different worldview can have real-world repercussions, as we are seeing now. It’s also illiberal and un-American (we talk through issues calmly like adults here and find a middle ground). In a sane world, the left and right would both align on this.
What’s surprising here isn’t that people are let go. What’s surprising is that anyone pretends their personal actions are shielded from consequence. Freedom of speech protects you from prison, not from being shunned or losing your job. This would be the natural fallout of your own words, and any policy and enforcement of should be apolitical.
The good news here is if you have real morality, consistent principles aligned with Western civilization and tell the truth you don’t have much to fear. Even if you’re canceled by a given political mob you generally can find supporters somewhere. On a long enough timeline there is a ‘right side of history.’ But if this isn’t you, and you simply act without civility and in a callous fashion long enough, you may find yourself alone.
Note since someone asked to me to clarify, which I thought was clear from this post: I think of cancel culture as frivolous and anodyne stuff no reasonable person actually takes issue with, and consequence culture would be serious stuff, like promoting acts of violence. I think we can do without the former, but every company should just be clear in their policy what’s acceptable. Without clear rules, there is chaos.
Anything I publicly write or post, I think about what my family, friends or employer would say or do if/when they see it.
I have deleted 20x the amount of drafts than actual posts. I wish more people did the same.
TALK ABOUT IT!!