Conservative speakers get booted from college campuses, years-old tweets are resurfaced to get those on the right fired from their jobs, conservative Hollywood stars get the axe for wrongthink – the list goes on and on. And while cancel culture isn't a new phenomenon, what is alarming is that its reach is broadening to include not just the alleged offender in question but those around them. That's the case with what Airbnb just did to conservative Canadian political commentator Lauren Southern—rather, we should say what the company did to her parents.
Southern, who was banned "years ago" from using the home rental service, explained what happened in a tweet that has now gone viral. Her parents aren't "political activists," she said. All they were doing was trying to book a "romantic getaway." But those plans were dashed when they were informed via email that because they're related to Southern, they're no longer welcome on the platform, or, as the email stated, "because your account is closely associated with a person who isn't allowed to use Airbnb."
My parents just got banned from AirBnB for being related to me.
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 7, 2023
They have never booked anything for me. They do not represent me in any way. They aren't publicly political in any way.
How is this sane in any way @Airbnb pic.twitter.com/SOF01xkJFS
"All I've learned is that if governments and corporations can't shut you up by harming you, they'll now go for your families," Southern commented on Twitter, wondering "how many degrees of 'affiliations'" the company can ban people for.
My parents are some of the sweetest people I know. They were just planning a romantic getaway, they aren't political activists. :(
— Lauren Southern (@Lauren_Southern) February 7, 2023
All I've learned is that if governments and corporations can't shut you up by harming you, they'll now go for your families.
Speaking about the incident with Fox News's Tucker Carlson, Southern said a "Pandora's box" has been opened.
"I think progressives have realized with the laws we have in place defending civil liberties, they can't bring a social credit system in yet, so they found a way to circumvent it through the corporate class," she said. "They can just impose a social credit system on this using Big Tech."
When publicly pressed on the matter, Airbnb said the decision was a "mistake" and reversed course on Wednesday. Southern wasn't buying the excuse, however.
"How do you mistakenly track down an activist's family, mistakenly send them a specific email saying it was because of their relation to me? It makes no sense. They are trying to cover up something nefarious here," she said. "And the only reason they're not continuing to do this to me is because I have a platform, and they are testing the waters. If they got away with it this time, they would've kept going, but they miscalculated how woke their market is."
Tucker Carlson and @Lauren_Southern tonight pic.twitter.com/Ix1gfDgXPz
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 9, 2023
