> There’s irony to a progressive, fluid culture, dishing outrage in black and white. They’re against incarceration, but enthused to rip people apart, with no due process.
A few years ago, I read Jon Ronson’s book, “So You've Been Publicly Shamed” which examined online mobs (I don’t think the term “cancel culture” had yet entered public discourse). He started off with the belief that social media was a force for good, allowing the powerless to band together and “fight the power” but then saw how it spiralled out of control to become a more toxic phenomenon and hurt ordinary people. In one of the earlier chapters, he explores the history of shaming (a method of societal punishment that goes back a long way). He pointed out that progressives and liberals influenced by Enlightenment values came to view incarceration as a much more humane form of punishment than the stocks and similar public shamings.
A few years ago, I read Jon Ronson’s book, “So You've Been Publicly Shamed” which examined online mobs (I don’t think the term “cancel culture” had yet entered public discourse). He started off with the belief that social media was a force for good, allowing the powerless to band together and “fight the power” but then saw how it spiralled out of control to become a more toxic phenomenon and hurt ordinary people. In one of the earlier chapters, he explores the history of shaming (a method of societal punishment that goes back a long way). He pointed out that progressives and liberals influenced by Enlightenment values came to view incarceration as a much more humane form of punishment than the stocks and similar public shamings.