Heroes Fighting Cancel Culture

 

So many of you have inspired me with your posts of the people, companies, and organizations fighting back against cancel culture. In some ways, the number of people who speak out seems small; every time I see a new person, I keep wishing there were more; I’ve decided I want to have one place I can go and periodically review a list of them, to remind myself there are many more than I’ve realized.

Also, I’m sure there are some people whom we’ve missed, even people in our own personal universe, who’ve risked their lives, reputations, and jobs but speak out anyway. So, I’m going to list a few of those who have heartened me through their actions and courage. And I hope you’ll add to the list!

One of the most difficult institutions to call out are the universities. Several employees at universities have been singled out and are fighting back:

Cornell faculty and alumni are waging a campaign to fire law professor William Jacobson, founder of the Legal Insurrection blog, because he questioned the motives of the Black Lives Matter movement. UCLA business school fired a lecturer, Gordon Klein, for refusing to grant more time to, or change his grading system for, black students during the Floyd protests, though he apparently was following the school’s own rules. Professor Walter Block, a libertarian who serves as the Chair of the Economics Department at Loyola University in New Orleans, is facing student demands for his ouster over claims that he made racist comments published six years ago in the New York Times—though the Times settled the defamation suit he had brought against it for misconstruing his remarks. Berkeley’s public policy school summarily fired lecturer Steven Hayward, objecting to his allegedly racist and homophobic statements on the Powerline blog, among other conservative outlets. [bolding is mine]

Our own John Yoo is fearless and seems to brush away these threats like annoying flies buzzing around him.

Celebrities who have spoken out include John Cleese, Ricky Gervais, singer Kelly Rowland, and John Malkovich. And I’m sure there are many more.

One of the first companies who’s corporate leader pushed back was Robert Unanue who expressed support for Donald Trump. The left launched a boycott; in response, Mr. Unanue was shown overwhelming support by grocery customers, a “buy-cott,” who cleared out store shelves buying his products.

Red Bull, an energy drink company, was criticized in a letter by 300 employees for not adequately speaking out in support of Black Lives Matter. When the letter was leaked out, Red Bull’s Florian Klaas fired the employee who leaked it. In addition, two employees had been pushing for more diversity in the company for several months; they’ve both been fired.

Another corporate example is Trader Joe’s, who has refused to change the names of some of its food labels in order to be seen as politically correct.

* * * * *

We need role models who remind us that we must fight for our country’s values, for our communities, and for our families. These people have put, in some cases, everything on the line. We should emulate them.

I know there must be plenty of “ordinary people” who have spoken out, but they are ignored by the media. So, if you know someone who has had the courage to push back, who has been fearless in his or her efforts to let others know that we can no longer tolerate this fascist and anti-American behavior, this is your chance to add them to the list.

Let’s demonstrate that we believe they make a difference.

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  1. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Susan Quinn: Celebrities who have spoken out include John Cleese, Ricky Gervais, singer Kelly Rowland, and John Malkovich . And I’m sure there are many more.

    Former mixed martial arts star Gina Carano is also fighting back:

    https://www.redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/08/05/star-wars-actress-gina-carano-stands-up-to-blm-bullying/

     

    • #1
  2. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I love this woman! I’ve never understood why people engage in sports where they can be beaten up, but she has tons of courage for speaking out and even heard from people who supported her. Awesome! Thanks, @stad. I’d love to get more examples!

    • #2
  3. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    I love this woman! I’ve never understood why people engage in sports where they can be beaten up, but she has tons of courage for speaking out and even heard from people who supported her. Awesome! Thanks, @stad. I’d love to get more examples!

    She was great in Haywire, although the flashback mechanism the movie used kinda made it hard to follow.

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    I’ve never heard of her, @stad, but I love her anyway!

    • #4
  5. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Senator Kelly Loeffler from Georgia, who owns a WNBA team criticized players for supporting BLM for walking off the game floor. She’s being attacked and the women on the team are actively working against her re-election.

    • #5
  6. Bartholomew Xerxes Ogilvie, Jr. Coolidge
    Bartholomew Xerxes Ogilvie, Jr.
    @BartholomewXerxesOgilvieJr

    Minor nitpick: the left launched a boycott against Goya. A “buy-cott” is the (confusingly named) opposite, a deliberate campaign of purchasing a company’s products in order to oppose the boycott. That’s what Trump supporters did, cleaning out the shelves.

    I wonder if perhaps J.K. Rowling should be on your list. I don’t know that she has specifically spoken out against cancel culture, but she has quite steadfastly ignored it.

    • #6
  7. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Bartholomew Xerxes Ogilvie, Jr. (View Comment):

    Minor nitpick: the left launched a boycott against Goya. A “buy-cott” is the (confusingly named) opposite, a deliberate campaign of purchasing a company’s products in order to oppose the boycott. That’s what Trump supporters did, cleaning out the shelves.

    I wonder if perhaps J.K. Rowling should be on your list. I don’t know that she has specifically spoken out against cancel culture, but she has quite steadfastly ignored it.

    Thanks, BXO; you are correct about boycott/buy-cott and I’ve corrected it in the OP.

    Yes, JK Rowling should be on the list, particularly in pushing back on transgenderism. Some would say that she can “afford” to push back, since she’s not going to lose her “job,” but so what? Thanks, @bartholomewxerxesogilviejr!

    • #7
  8. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    I think that a group that moved the issue of cancel culture to the forefront was the intellectual dark web, a diverse group of YouTube intellectuals and personalities identified by Barri Weiss in her NYT article of that name. Joe Rogan, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, Brett Weinstein, Eric Weinstein, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris. These were followed in short order by a myriad of heterodox individuals including Jonathon Haidt, Amy Wax, Coleman Hughes, Heather McDonald, Tim Pool, James Lindsay, Douglas Murray and an ever growing list. We are not losing.

    • #8
  9. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    Even in the woke monotheistic world of sports commentary, there are now Clay Travis, Jason Whitlock and Will Cain. We are not losing.

    • #9
  10. Caryn Thatcher
    Caryn
    @Caryn

    Martina Navratilova, for supporting the common sense idea of keeping women’s sports programs open only to biological women.  She’s no Conservative, but she’s held pretty firm on this issue.  My feeling about it is…duh.  But that is held to be out of step and hurtful to the girly men.  Whoops…can’t use that term either.  I also think it’s damnable lie that mine is a minority opinion.

    • #10
  11. JesseMcVay Inactive
    JesseMcVay
    @JesseMcVay

    Southern Pessimist (View Comment):

    I think that a group that moved the issue of cancel culture to the forefront was the intellectual dark web, a diverse group of YouTube intellectuals and personalities identified by Barri Weiss in her NYT article of that name. Joe Rogan, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, Brett Weinstein, Eric Weinstein, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris. These were followed in short order by a myriad of heterodox individuals including Jonathon Haidt, Amy Wax, Coleman Hughes, Heather McDonald, Tim Pool, James Lindsay, Douglas Murray and an ever growing list. We are not losing.

    Add to this list Glenn Loury from Brown University and John McWhorter from Colombia.  Sample The Glenn Show

    • #11
  12. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Mark Steyn. Laurence Fox.

    • #12
  13. JesseMcVay Inactive
    JesseMcVay
    @JesseMcVay

    Bret Weinstein et al were mentioned as members of the Intellectual Dark Web, aka IDW.  Many of whom are liberals (the leftie kind) who have realized that the crazy left is a danger to us all.  This roundtable includes many of those folks.

    Bret Weinsteins Dark Horse Podcast:  Black Intellectual Roundtable.   

    Dave Collum, Chemistry professor at Cornell   Follow him at @DavidBCollum  

     

     

    • #13
  14. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Caryn (View Comment):

    Martina Navratilova, for supporting the common sense idea of keeping women’s sports programs open only to biological women. She’s no Conservative, but she’s held pretty firm on this issue. My feeling about it is…duh. But that is held to be out of step and hurtful to the girly men. Whoops…can’t use that term either. I also think it’s damnable lie that mine is a minority opinion.

    It doesn’t matter whether they’re conservative or not. The fact is, she pushed back. Good for her! Thanks for reminding us.

    • #14
  15. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Southern Pessimist (View Comment):

    I think that a group that moved the issue of cancel culture to the forefront was the intellectual dark web, a diverse group of YouTube intellectuals and personalities identified by Barri Weiss in her NYT article of that name. Joe Rogan, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, Brett Weinstein, Eric Weinstein, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris. These were followed in short order by a myriad of heterodox individuals including Jonathon Haidt, Amy Wax, Coleman Hughes, Heather McDonald, Tim Pool, James Lindsay, Douglas Murray and an ever growing list. We are not losing.

    Excellent listing, @southernpessimist! So many of them who really set great examples for speaking out, Left and Right! Thanks so much!

    • #15
  16. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    JesseMcVay (View Comment):

    Southern Pessimist (View Comment):

    I think that a group that moved the issue of cancel culture to the forefront was the intellectual dark web, a diverse group of YouTube intellectuals and personalities identified by Barri Weiss in her NYT article of that name. Joe Rogan, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, Brett Weinstein, Eric Weinstein, Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris. These were followed in short order by a myriad of heterodox individuals including Jonathon Haidt, Amy Wax, Coleman Hughes, Heather McDonald, Tim Pool, James Lindsay, Douglas Murray and an ever growing list. We are not losing.

    Add to this list Glenn Loury from Brown University and John McWhorter from Colombia. Sample The Glenn Show.

    Yes! Thanks, @jessemcvay

    • #16
  17. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    JesseMcVay (View Comment):

    Bret Weinstein et al were mentioned as members of the Intellectual Dark Web, aka IDW. Many of whom are liberals (the leftie kind) who have realized that the crazy left is a danger to us all. This roundtable includes many of those folks.

    Bret Weinsteins Dark Horse Podcast: Black Intellectual Roundtable.

    Dave Collum, Chemistry professor at Cornell Follow him at @DavidBCollum

     

     

    I think we need to look closely at those places where our positions intersect with the Left. This may turn out to be very important. Those may lead to alliances in these polarized times.

    • #17
  18. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    I think we need to look closely at those places where our positions intersect with the Left. This may turn out to be very important. Those may lead to alliances in these polarized times.

    I think it is important. There is a huge diverse conversation going on through the internet that is clarifying the threat of political correctness and woke ideology. Many of my friends don’t know what I am talking about when I talk about corporations getting woke and going broke. If you get your news about the world from an occasional 30 minute broadcast news show, you have never heard the word “woke”. You probably are somewhat confused about what the fuss is about but choose to ignore it and wait for Wheel of Fortune to come on.

    • #18
  19. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Southern Pessimist (View Comment):

    I think we need to look closely at those places where our positions intersect with the Left. This may turn out to be very important. Those may lead to alliances in these polarized times.

    I think it is important. There is a huge diverse conversation going on through the internet that is clarifying the threat of political correctness and woke ideology. Many of my friends don’t know what I am talking about when I talk about corporations getting woke and going broke. If you get your news about the world from an occasional 30 minute broadcast news show, you have never heard the word “woke”. You probably are somewhat confused about what the fuss is about but choose to ignore it and wait for Wheel of Fortune to come on.

    I am moved by your response, @southernpessimist. These are such dark times that I struggle to find hope for the future. There’s no doubt that reconciliation of any kind will seem insurmountable; I still have difficulty imagining that. But I’m counting on some of us tiring of, and rejecting the ugliness and destruction that is going on. I just hope we can find each other in our day-to-day interactions, no matter our positions. Thank you for providing light to this conversation.

    • #19
  20. Caryn Thatcher
    Caryn
    @Caryn

    A few more odd bedfellows…Phyllis Chesler–a pretty radical second wave feminist–and Alan Dershowitz, both liberals who fell out with the left largely over Israel and the left’s rabid antisemitism; and Camille Paglia, who’s very hard to categorize, which is a great part of her charm.  And, of course, Melanie Phillips.

    • #20
  21. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    I am moved by your response, @southernpessimist. These are such dark times that I struggle to find hope for the future. There’s no doubt that reconciliation of any kind will seem insurmountable; I still have difficulty imagining that. But I’m counting on some of us tiring of, and rejecting the ugliness and destruction that is going on. I just hope we can find each other in our day-to-day interactions, no matter our positions. Thank you for providing light to this conversation.

    Despite my innate pessimism, I think the backlash against cancel culture is well on its way to canceling cancel culture. There will be many problems left but there is a huge majority of people who may be watching Wheel of Fortune now wondering what the fuss is about who will not put up with this nonsense once it penetrates their self isolated world.

    • #21
  22. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    Actor James Woods gets mentioned regularly online with quotes from his Twitter (RealJamesWoods), very un-PC. Gives absolutely not one F.

    • #22
  23. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    I truly believe we are close to the time when we can look back at Twitter and say, finally our long national nightmare is over. I just wish Andrew Breitbart was here to see it.

    • #23
  24. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    • #24
  25. Southern Pessimist Member
    Southern Pessimist
    @SouthernPessimist

    Eeyore, we posted at the same time. James Woods has successfully followed Breitbart in the weaponization of twitter against itself.

    • #25
  26. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    Senator Kelly Loeffler from Georgia, who owns a WNBA team criticized players for supporting BLM for walking off the game floor. She’s being attacked and the women on the team are actively working against her re-election.

    I’d get personally involved and trade any player who did that.  Better yet, sell the team to Harvey Weinstein . . .

    • #26
  27. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    @eeyore, @caryn, @southernpessimist, @percival, I am so grateful for your sharing those who come to mind regarding speaking out. I am greatly encouraged to see so many taking these risks!!

    • #27
  28. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Caryn (View Comment):

    Martina Navratilova, for supporting the common sense idea of keeping women’s sports programs open only to biological women. She’s no Conservative, but she’s held pretty firm on this issue. My feeling about it is…duh. But that is held to be out of step and hurtful to the girly men. Whoops…can’t use that term either. I also think it’s damnable lie that mine is a minority opinion.

    Even Serena Williams admitted if she competed in men’s tennis, she’d likely not beat any of the top 100:

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-battle-of-the-sexes-is-back-serena-vs-the-men

    • #28
  29. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    I am so grateful for your sharing those who come to mind regarding speaking out. I am greatly encouraged to see so many taking these risks!!

    Shatner is retired. They can’t put a skeer into him. But anyone not taking the knee is a blow to their fragile egos.

    I say hammer with a will, Mr. Shatner.

    • #29
  30. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Percival (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):

    I am so grateful for your sharing those who come to mind regarding speaking out. I am greatly encouraged to see so many taking these risks!!

    Shatner is retired. They can’t put a skeer into him. But anyone not taking the knee is a blow to their fragile egos.

    I say hammer with a will, Mr. Shatner.

    I agree! Actually he is moderating a show on TV right now. Then again, he probably doesn’t need the work.

    • #30
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