Cancel Culture is Bad for Everyone

We have been wading into authoritarian waters for some time now. For most of human history, shunning, excommunication, and public humiliation have been used for social conformity. The Puritans, for instance, used to whip members who broke rules publicly. The Ancient Greeks allowed white male citizens to write someone’s name on a broken piece of pottery and have them exiled for 10 years. The modern versions include “calling out” or “canceling,” which are instantaneous and often occur in our digital town square: social media.