The Childishness of Cancel Culture

 Rob Jenkins is a college instructor who apparently still retains a bit of common sense.  He has written a piece at Townhall.com entitled Dear Students: You Have No Right Not to be Offended. Of course, what these students do not realize is that the same cancel culture they seem to revel in can be turned on them by a change in the political winds. But if self preservation doesn't convince them, then what about intellectual integrity?

The latest insanity from the Left (or one of the latest insanities, at least; they seem to compound daily) is that a group of Harvard students and faculty are demanding the university rescind degrees awarded to Ted Cruz, Kayleigh McEnany, and other conservatives and “Trump allies.” Why? Because said students and faculty members disagree with them about politics. Because they find their views to be “offensive.”

Where in the world did people get the notion that they can cancel others just because they offend them? Are the would-be cancelers oblivious to the fact that the Constitution expressly protects freedom of speech while offering not one word about freedom from offense?

Jenkins then lets his readers in on a speech he gives at the beginning of each semester in which he explains that students may be offended at some point in his class. His speech is a nice way of saying "Tough luck. Grow up."

“There’s a lot of talk these days about 'hate speech' and other things people say that are “offensive.” So before we go any further, I need you to understand that 'hate speech' s not an actual thing, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed—including very recently in Matal v. Tam (2016).

He also points out that being offended is a choice. You choose to be offended, someone doesn't "make" you to be offended. It is the same with resentments. You take them, they are not given to you. The fact is that you can only control yourself; you can not control others. Oh, and attempts to do so do not turn out well.

“More importantly, in the context of a college course, you should understand that being offended is an emotional response, not an intellectual one. The appropriate intellectual response to offensive speech, whether objectively wrong or merely subjectively distasteful, is to formulate a cogent rebuttal.

...snip...

Unfortunately, as a society, we seem to have gotten the idea that the answer to offensive speech is to shut down or cancel the speaker. But that never works, long-term, as the history of oppressive regimes clearly shows. That’s especially true in the United States, where many of us have grown accustomed to speaking our minds and view efforts to silence us as a personal challenge.

Please go read the whole article, and also read the embedded article as well. Understand that the cancel culture is childish, churlish, and in the end doesn't really work. It instead provokes a reaction, not always a pleasant one. In order to become an adult, people must grow out of the cancel culture and embrace freedom of speech. The answer to offensive speech is more speech that explains why it is offensive. It is the only way to have intellectual integrity.