Academic Freedom Under Attack

When we think of the cancel culture what comes to mind right away is how social media is used to call someone out for their words or actions as offensive to a group. Those offended go on social media and start a firestorm of criticism against the offending party. Before you know it, others have taken to the internet to voice their views. The result may be to cancel the offending party by denying them the status they may have achieved or blacklisting them in the mind of the public. It some respects it is like ostracizing a person or group. I have blogged about a variety of reasons for the cancel culture ranging from the influence of social media and the woke culture that is prevalent today.

One definition of the cancel culture is it is a form of a cultural boycott that allows “marginalized people” to seek accountability where the justice system has failed. A case in point is the rash of unprovoked shootings by the police of black Americans that motivated the offended group, like Black Lives Matter, to seek revenge against the police when the justice system failed. Many groups sought to cancel the offending police officer and even all the police for the actions of a few. 

However, the cancel culture goes much further. On college campuses, distinguished commence speakers have been disinvited after it was revealed they hold positions contrary to the prevailing liberal wisdom. Student groups have banded together to protest the speakers and in most cases the colleges complied. Rather than honor and respect free speech the offended groups seek to stifle free speech in the name of political correctness. It is a form of groupthink and censorship in its worst form.

Back in 2016, when the alarm over campus free speech was at its height, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) recorded 43 “disinvitation attempts”. These are episodes in which one segment of the campus community attempts to block an invited speaker from speaking, and can range from mass protests and deplatformings to the circulation of a petition.

Here is just a taste of that list focusing on recent cancellations or withdrawals by speakers.

The list reads like a whose who in politics and entertainment. It has no bounds. It is a dangerous trend because it sends students a signal that they need to monitor what they do and say carefully else risk the wrath of the cancel culture. It is an affront to the long-held academic core value of freedom speech and has no place in higher education. Rather than cancel certain speakers, an open debate should be held that examines their words in a constructive manner. In other words, use it as a teachable moment.

Posted by Dr. Steven Mintz, The Ethics Sage, on May 20, 2021. You can sign up for his newsletter and learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/. Follow him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/StevenMintzEthics and on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ethicssage.