I remember stuff like this being given attention by ratings-chasing media back then, but then equal attention was also given to people laughing at them.

The author of The Bell Curve was famously cancelled, but there were a few "debates" with opponents of the book on daytime TV and it seemed pretty obvious that the people attacking him were stupid and ridiculous. You could tell the TV hosts enjoyed the spectacle. It wasn't an issue of "moral superiority". It was media nonsense that normal people didn't take seriously. We probably should have paid more attention to academia instead of laughing at them.

So the PC craze happened, but it was clear to most people outside of California that you still had a right to offend, and being offended wasn't a virtue. Also the thing that really pisses me off about today's culture, which didn't happen much back then, is that big companies are cancelling individuals for no reason - just because some group complained. That's a dangerous precedent. You can lose your bank accounts and travel privileges and become persona-non-grata just for being disliked by someone somewhere.

I remember stuff like this being given attention by ratings-chasing media back then, but then equal attention was also given to people laughing at them.

The author of The Bell Curve was famously cancelled, but there were a few "debates" with opponents of the book on daytime TV and it seemed pretty obvious that the people attacking him were stupid and ridiculous. You could tell the TV hosts enjoyed the spectacle. It wasn't an issue of "moral superiority". It was media nonsense that normal people didn't take seriously. We probably should have paid more attention to academia instead of laughing at them.

So the PC craze happened, but it was clear to most people outside of California that you still had a right to offend, and being offended wasn't a virtue. Also the thing that really pisses me off about today's culture, which didn't happen much back then, is that big companies are cancelling individuals for no reason - just because some group complained. That's a dangerous precedent. You can lose your bank accounts and travel privileges and become persona-non-grata just for being disliked by someone somewhere.