Call to Action: Cancelling Cancel Culture and Supporting Free Speech
This month, I’d like to call everyone’s attention to the harm that cancel culture (closely related to the right to free speech) can have on those inside our field–yes, writers you and I both know…writers we admire and support. This includes writers we disagree with, writers who make mistakes, writers writing across differences, and the publishers and agents charged with representing them. Two recent articles really bring this to a head for me, and I’m recommending them here:
- Why Today’s Publishers Fear Goodreads More Than Government by Kevin Dickinson
- The Backlash Against Ocean Vuong by Linda Carroll
I’m not saying any of this is easy, but a lot of good thinking went into the First Amendment of the Constitution, and all too often, the powers that be (including publishers, including online influencers) seem to have forgotten that. When things are moving as fast as an assassin’s bullet–and you know what I’m talking about–we need to stay informed. Facts, not posts. Data, not memes. Creative expression, not exclusion.
These two articles highlight today’s complexities and suggest slowing down, thinking expansively, and leaning into imagination and empathy.
Rethinking cancel culture and supporting free speech go hand-in-hand, so I would like to encourage you to report free speech violations, those that affect you or someone you know. This is an important way that you can be an ally to someone (or to an organization) who is being actively oppressed and censored. If you report for someone else, be sure to get their permission first (or report with names redacted): https://ncac.org/report-censorship
Here’s an open petition to sign regarding attacks on free speech: https://www.commoncause.org/actions/tell-congress-reject-magas-attacks-on-our-free-speech/. When you’re on this website, you can also go to the upper lefthand corner and select your state, which will redirect you to Common Cause’s state-specific, time-sensitive issues at the local level. This org is an incredible resource!
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