Leftists spent years using cancel culture as a sword to cut down anyone who disagreed with their increasingly radical beliefs. Since October 7, however, many of those same leftists have learned the hard way that cancel culture is a double-edged sword.
The phrase “cancel culture” has become ubiquitous and yet remains relatively undefined. In general, cancel culture is a harsh, unforgiving response to any behavior deemed offensive—even if the same conduct would not have been considered offensive just a few years ago.
A key component of cancel culture is character assassination. The labeling of one’s political enemies quickly became an effective tool of progressives. If anyone disagreed with a policy that supported diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or LGBTQ rights, those people were silenced by being called racist, transphobic or anti-gay.
Businesses became especially susceptible to cancel culture, and many chose to appease the mob rather than risk a cancellation of their own. After all, customers don’t want to be associated with a canceled business out of fear that they will be canceled by proximity, too. Leftists don’t believe anyone is entitled to sit out a political debate. After all, they believe “silence is violence.”
To date, the right has suffered the brunt of cancel culture. Conservatives are regularly smeared as racist or homophobic, criticized on social media for old and benign activities that became offensive overnight, and targeted by aggressive mobs that wish to destroy their personal and professional lives in any way they can.
Because the left’s causes were deemed so righteous, all forms of harassment, doxxing, and threatening became fair game. To them, “progress” warranted breaking every norm of considerate or civilized behavior.
Yet now leftists who are supporting Hamas are complaining about each of these tactics. Palestinian supporters are learning how damning such name-calling can be. For example, a New York Times piece detailed how many Congressional staffers were frustrated by the fact that they’ve been “almost reflexively brand as antisemitic” because of their criticisms of Israel following the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.
Progressives have claimed the right to tell us what words and phrases mean–no matter a person’s intent when using those words. It was considered fair game to look back at activities that were decades old and retrospectively condemn someone. They’re the ones who deemed the phrase “master bedroom” racist and the word “mother” transphobic.
Yet when Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) was confronted for a post crying “from the river to the sea,” she said she thought it meant “freedom.” Okay, maybe she did. But given today's standards, she does not get to decide what she meant. Those opposing her decide what she meant.
Until recently, many of the left – including the United Nations – claimed that calls for free speech really meant allowing “hate” speech. Meta, for example, justifies banning free speech on Facebook and Instagram because hate speech is harmful. Yet Pro-Palestinian protestors are demanding their right to free speech even if Jews know it is hate speech. The Left has long believed that anonymity leads to hate speech, and therefore it needs to be regulated. Leftists often take pride in exposing the identity of right-of-center donors.
After facing criticism of their own, however, the pro-Palestinian protestors have learned the importance of anonymous speech when speaking to the media. Various pro-Palestinian groups have made a habit of wearing masks and requesting anonymity from reporters. The New York Times included this line in one recent report: “The committee members, all current or recently graduated students who were interviewed in Washington, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they said they worried for their safety.”
At least now some in the media seem concerned about the safety concerns of cancel culture.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has also upended the leftist trend of calling for businesses to speak out on political matters. Typically, the left urges businesses to make political statements showing the company’s support for the progressive cause of the day. When it comes to freeing the hostages in Gaza or mourning the hundreds who were murdered by Hamas, however, the left does not support companies making statements. They’ve even set up a Reddit page to try to silence businesses for speaking out–or even investing–in Israel.
The left loves to change the rules of what is acceptable. Words are offensive only when they decide they’re offensive. Businesses should speak out on political issues only when they want them to speak out. Silence is violence until Hamas murders hundreds.
Cancel culture has been full of hypocrites for years, and the aftermath of the October 7 attacks put that hypocrisy on center stage. Hopefully, the world is watching, and we can all agree to stop playing the left’s stupid games.
Frayda Levy is a conservative philanthropist.
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