John Stossel Video: Cancelled in the WOKEplace
Angry mobs have threatened people throughout history. But now there’s a new kind: online mobs.
Repeatedly outraged and vicious — their goal is to get people fired. They are good at it.
An analyst at a democratic polling firm tweeted about a study that concluded, “Riots reduce the share of democratic votes.”
Quickly, an online mob rallied with complaints. One tagged the CEO of Civis Analytics, telling him, “Come get your boy.”
“Within days, this … guy was let go from the position,” says Robby Soave, author of Panic Attack: Young Radicals in the Age of Trump.
“So all this young man does is tweet an article that’s obviously true, and he gets fired?” asks Stossel. “Why are they winning? Their argument is ridiculous.”
“Because people are afraid to challenge them. It just takes one employee at one company to say, ‘Here’s the law that protects my rights to feel safe and comfortable. … If you’re not making me feel safe … I’m going to get you in trouble. I might even sue you,’” Soave explains.
So “cancel culture” grows.
In England, a tax specialist lost her job for saying being female is a biological fact.
When Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling defended her, tweeting, “Force women out of their jobs for stating sex is real?” the mob came for Rowling.
It called her transphobic, said her tweet was “cruel and inaccurate.” Some staff at her publisher refused to work on her upcoming book.
But Rowling is the rare person popular enough to be able to resist the mob. Her publisher stood up for her, saying, “Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of publishing.”
That’s how all these cases should be handled.
“We just have to speak up,” says Soave.
That can be hard in the current “cancel culture.” But those of us who can speak up should.
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