Quote:
Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield
When people still revered Enlightenment views, they would listen to a person say something they didn't like and respond by ignoring it or explaining why they thought it was flawed.
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This is a comical view of history.
HUAC. Korematsu. Office of Censorship. Palmer Raids. Espionage Act. Jim Crow. Comstock Laws. Alien & Sedition Acts.
Since our birth in the Enlightenment, the US has jailed people for speech that opposed the President, slavery, wars, the union, or the government in general, and for speech that advocated rights for women and minorities, unions, anarchy, communism, socialism, pacifism, alliance with France, or any number of other things. I kind of expect this sort of persecution is relatively low today compared to prior periods.
Likewise, colleges have a long history of firing faculty for all kinds of nonconformance or "deviancy", ranging from unacceptable religious or political views or memberships to things like getting pregnant, being homosexual, or discussing evolution in class.
If you want to advocate that there is some special kind of cancel culture out there today get me metrics - mine some data. Are people being arrested or jailed in greater numbers than in prior periods? Are laws on the books of some sort that weren't there before? Are faculty being fired in greater numbers than in whatever heyday of enlightenment thinking you want to posit? Has there been an increase in lynchings? And if you do find some numbers, make sure you compare and contrast so-called Christian or Catholic schools (where there is a very strong movement now for doing things like firing gay people) and Secular private or state schools.
I think you need to read more of the 1619 Project.
