In his annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on January 11, Pope Francis decried the phenomenon of “cancel culture.” The Pope noted that “[u]nder the guise of defending diversity,” “cancel culture” obliterates “all sense of identity, with the risk of silencing positions that defend a respectful and balanced understanding of all sensibilities.” Worse than that, it promotes a kind of thinking that is “constrained to deny history or, worse yet, to rewrite it in terms of present-day categories, whereas any historical situation must be interpreted in the light of a hermeneutics of that particular time, not that of today.”
One finds examples of the “cancel culture” condemned by the Pope everywhere, with new examples emerging almost daily. Professors and podcasters alike find themselves in the hot seat with astonishing regularity. However, few solutions to “cancel culture” have been identified. The cycle continues. Some prominent professor, executive, or personality says something wicked, foolish, or merely unpopular. The usual suspects of left-wing journalists and Twitter power users find it and boost the signal, often notifying the person’s employer through the phenomenon of “snitch tagging.” The outrage builds in a sort of positive feedback loop. Finally the desired goal is reached and the professor or executive finds herself without a job, without friends, and without prospects.
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