Has cancel culture and identity politics gone to far?

[Proud90sKid]

Identity politics: autism is wildly overdiagnosed now. Primarily because people want a special label. Autism is perfect for that because it is a spectrum, seems real to laymen, sometimes gives enhanced cognitive abilities, and they get props for "overcoming" a "severe" challenge.

Cancel culture: Reddit started to strongly censor stuff in the past 5 years and give mods a bit more discretion. You can even be pre-emptively banned from some subs for posting in "covid misinformation subreddits" and almost anything I post on reddit gets removed by an automod for breaking some rule that is only found in the auto-mod's code. Yahoo removed commenting during COVID and youtube removed dislike counter after the Fauci movie got several. It was at first accepted by left leaning people, but increasingly I am noticing an anti-censorship sentiment on social media. People are openly complaining about the ridiculous censorship on reddit (ie. "Why do mods regulate posts on their subreddit more strictly than businesses are regulated in the US?) and not just on reddit either (watched a true crime youtube show about a sex creep getting busted and someone commented something like "moment of silence for whichever subreddit it was that has lost a moderator" and I have seen many other similar comments on both facebook and youtube. People arent just complaining about reddit either, but about the ridiculous and somewhat arbitrary censorship on social media in general. Reddit is probably the worst though but now increasingly people are referring to the site as a whole as a "toxic echo chamber for socially stunted liberals". You know it has gotten bad when reddit, once known for its anything goes approach, is now so restrictive that even "woke" people are starting to complain about it.

Is America growing tired of cancel culture and identity politics?

[TH Anonymous]

[SIZE="a"]I do agree that Autism is way overdiagnosed. People are saying they have Autism because it appears "cute" _ ie, look at that cute Autistic child! or aww, that Autistic dude likes cuddles — which is ableist and infantises us who actually have the disability. I hate it, and doctors need to place a stricter criteria for Autism diagnosis because this has gotten ridiculous! I see fanfiction of characters who are very neurotypical being written as Austistic and Soft in fanfiction because that conforms to the author's perverted (sadly, sometimes literally perverted) ideologies.


Saw another one on Facebook the other day. I enjoy vintage photographs from bygone eras taken in big cities. There was this one — although I'm not sure if it was actually in where the post text said it was with all the AI technology and Photoshop work — that featured Puerto Ricans on an airplane. A guy makes a joke about all of them being shocked about being able to sit in the front and sing praises for them. Latino and Taino-descended folks told him off and I'm only able to quietly agree. About 12% of all Puerto Ricans are actually descended from Africans.


I remember when Reddit was anything goes, but in those days it included illicit content such as certain type of explicit material, threats of murder by users towards others, and right wing extremism. While I do think those censorship were very appropriate, I haven't come across any other censorship on Reddit, I don't use it a whole lot. When I go on it, which is extremely rare, I don't see any trouble. I don't see anything by moderators, and most of the people there are having a decent conversation. As decent a conversation you can have just about anywhere else.


I know I've had woke fatigue for a long time, and I made it my resolution for the coming years in my life to keep my head down. It's not because I'm choosing to be ignorant of the world's problems or that they don't matter/aren't valid for others; it's because I've dealt with my own person stuff for so long that I can't carry the weight of the world or social and civil issues on my weak shoulders. Minding my own business, while still being respectful and not discriminate others based on race, religion, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, is all I can really do now.


Besides, where are woke issues surrounding issues that matter to me? Nobody cares about disabled folks. Not particularly about those who have chronic illnesses that leave them physically incapacitated, or considering that not all Deaf people choose to lip-read (and we shouldn't have that burden forced upon us) and that the rest of the world should consider mandatory closed captioning or be fined a hefty about by the Federal Communication Commission for not obliging. But nobody really gives a fuck, we live in an able-bodied world that thrives on sounds and not letters.

Until the woke happens in those areas, then I choose to bow out because you're not granting me the same consideration. Again, I'm not saying I am ignorant and that these social or civil issues are not valid; I'm doing this because I need to focus on myself. I can only do so much for my causes and I don't feel welcome in others. Until that day comes, then I want no part of it.[/size]

[Eerie In Wonderland]

Originally Posted by Proud90sKid

Identity politics: autism is wildly overdiagnosed now. Primarily because people want a special label. Autism is perfect for that because it is a spectrum, seems real to laymen, sometimes gives enhanced cognitive abilities, and they get props for "overcoming" a "severe" challenge.

Cancel culture: Reddit started to strongly censor stuff in the past 5 years and give mods a bit more discretion. You can even be pre-emptively banned from some subs for posting in "covid misinformation subreddits" and almost anything I post on reddit gets removed by an automod for breaking some rule that is only found in the auto-mod's code. Yahoo removed commenting during COVID and youtube removed dislike counter after the Fauci movie got several. It was at first accepted by left leaning people, but increasingly I am noticing an anti-censorship sentiment on social media. People are openly complaining about the ridiculous censorship on reddit (ie. "Why do mods regulate posts on their subreddit more strictly than businesses are regulated in the US?) and not just on reddit either (watched a true crime youtube show about a sex creep getting busted and someone commented something like "moment of silence for whichever subreddit it was that has lost a moderator" and I have seen many other similar comments on both facebook and youtube. People arent just complaining about reddit either, but about the ridiculous and somewhat arbitrary censorship on social media in general. Reddit is probably the worst though but now increasingly people are referring to the site as a whole as a "toxic echo chamber for socially stunted liberals". You know it has gotten bad when reddit, once known for its anything goes approach, is now so restrictive that even "woke" people are starting to complain about it.

Is America growing tired of cancel culture and identity politics?

Identity politics/Autism: A lot of people falsely claim they have autism and a variety of other disorders online. It's a serious problem. Being mentally ill isn't cute and quirky, it makes life significantly more difficult for those who experience it.
Cancel culture/censorship: I don't use Reddit so I'm not an expert on this particular scenario.

[Eerie In Wonderland]

Originally Posted by TH Anonymous

[SIZE="a"]I do agree that Autism is way overdiagnosed. People are saying they have Autism because it appears "cute" _ ie, look at that cute Autistic child! or aww, that Autistic dude likes cuddles — which is ableist and infantises us who actually have the disability. I hate it, and doctors need to place a stricter criteria for Autism diagnosis because this has gotten ridiculous! I see fanfiction of characters who are very neurotypical being written as Austistic and Soft in fanfiction because that conforms to the author's perverted (sadly, sometimes literally perverted) ideologies.


Saw another one on Facebook the other day. I enjoy vintage photographs from bygone eras taken in big cities. There was this one — although I'm not sure if it was actually in where the post text said it was with all the AI technology and Photoshop work — that featured Puerto Ricans on an airplane. A guy makes a joke about all of them being shocked about being able to sit in the front and sing praises for them. Latino and Taino-descended folks told him off and I'm only able to quietly agree. About 12% of all Puerto Ricans are actually descended from Africans.


I remember when Reddit was anything goes, but in those days it included illicit content such as certain type of explicit material, threats of murder by users towards others, and right wing extremism. While I do think those censorship were very appropriate, I haven't come across any other censorship on Reddit, I don't use it a whole lot. When I go on it, which is extremely rare, I don't see any trouble. I don't see anything by moderators, and most of the people there are having a decent conversation. As decent a conversation you can have just about anywhere else.


I know I've had woke fatigue for a long time, and I made it my resolution for the coming years in my life to keep my head down. It's not because I'm choosing to be ignorant of the world's problems or that they don't matter/aren't valid for others; it's because I've dealt with my own person stuff for so long that I can't carry the weight of the world or social and civil issues on my weak shoulders. Minding my own business, while still being respectful and not discriminate others based on race, religion, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, is all I can really do now.


Besides, where are woke issues surrounding issues that matter to me? Nobody cares about disabled folks. Not particularly about those who have chronic illnesses that leave them physically incapacitated, or considering that not all Deaf people choose to lip-read (and we shouldn't have that burden forced upon us) and that the rest of the world should consider mandatory closed captioning or be fined a hefty about by the Federal Communication Commission for not obliging. But nobody really gives a fuck, we live in an able-bodied world that thrives on sounds and not letters.

Until the woke happens in those areas, then I choose to bow out because you're not granting me the same consideration. Again, I'm not saying I am ignorant and that these social or civil issues are not valid; I'm doing this because I need to focus on myself. I can only do so much for my causes and I don't feel welcome in others. Until that day comes, then I want no part of it.[/size]

Disability: This is so accurate. Us disabled people are used as "iNsPiRaTiOn" for able-bodied people, and then the people who admire us so much turn and ignore everything we face in this world. I'm young and disabled, I need mobility aids, and I'm deaf in one ear, and my hearing in my good ear is dog shit. And adressing the closed captioning thing, this isn't the same, but I believe it was Charlie Kirk (don't quote me on that) who claimed (not a direct quote) that ASL interpreters on emergency briefings are a "woke distraction". How can anybody proudly proclaim that deaf people receiving potentially life saving information is a distraction. Human lives rights matter far more than dear Mr. Kirk getting mildly distracted by ASL.

[Mindfulness.]

I do agree with the fact that cancel culture and identity politics has gone too far and so many platforms have had to start censoring a lot of things that users post. Where did the freedom of speech go? I understand certain comments that are made being deleted, etc but moderators have gone overboard with what members can and can't say.

[Proud90sKid]

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable"
Is a famous quote.

While there isnt exactly violent opposition, there is certainly extreme opposition to woke cancel culture given Musk's rise to power and also his takeover and subsequent changes to twitter.

I am not sure cancel culture does anything good. People dont shut up when they are silenced, they double down and seek to overthrow who is silencing them. While I dont like Musk, I wish Musk bought Reddit instead of twitter...just for the *popcorn* that would result when mods lose their ability to cancel as much content as they do. Reddit has taken over way too much internet discourse and is probably a big reason for the extinction of forums and reduced activity on this one. I made a post that said who I voted for in a major political sub, got massively downvoted and then couldnt post in any major subreddit for over a month due to "low karma". I mostly frequent small subs so making a post on a big one really overwhelmed my comment karma. Is this a problem? I think it is because it is why Reddit has turned into a liberal echo chamber. I dont think censoring things is a good way to protect the public. Getting banned from a massive number of subreddits they never heard by an autobanning bot for posting in a lockdownSkeptic subreddit didnt make them any more likely to get the vaccine. Instead it made them think "you mean the vaccine pushed by pro-censorship people? Fuck that, Im not letting their cancel juice into my veins". I honestly think cancel culture is pushed hardest by people who either never get out (and therefore take a "cant see it on my computer screen...doesnt exist" approach) or stick within a narrow circle of likeminded people ("if I dont know them, then it doesnt exist..even though they can still vote").

I also think there are also issues that conservatives are not budging on but should. Medicine should be socialized and last month we saw what happens when the wrong person is denied for a health insurance claim due to a technicality.

I think cancel culture played a massive role in Trump's re-election. People tired of it and Biden's lack of action on issues that matter didnt help. They'd get banned from a massive number of subreddits for criticizing Biden or Harris which only served to make them more likely to vote for Trump.

It is just a form of cyberbullying and peer pressure. It seeks to disincentivize people from social media posts about particular topics by making them seem "socially unacceptable" but it has been so overly used that it no longer has the effect of making people feel their beliefs are unacceptable. They just join the rest of the people who got cancelled-forming yet another polarizing echo chamber

Facebook recently lessened its censorship policy to the chagrin of a lot of liberals. It was shocking to see the number of people commenting on Mark's announcement with "social media is no longer safe" or "social media is no longer accurate"(?!-imagine getting your news from facebook). So many dont want free speech on social media platforms.

It was admitted that facebook along with other social media sites censored talk of the "lab leak theory" for COVID as it is "insensitive to Chinese and not what the pandemic is about". It turns out that while it isnt necessarily true that it was a lab leak, the evidence is not convincing that it wasnt. And I feel everyone who lived through 2020 deserves to know the truth. Nobody should be telling me "what the pandemic should be about". To me, that is like saying it doesnt matter if the California wildfires were started by a human or not...it kind of does matter if there exist people who started this either accidentally or on purpose. It also came out that the "six foot rule" during COVID wasnt based on science but "just sort of appeared"(according to Fauci himself). Questioning the science is how you do science. Not questioning the "experts" is how you get an authoritarian government. When all this came out, the cancel
culture of the past several years was all blatant censorship and many people arent happy about it. It created a large number of people who abhor cancel culture and therefore by definition of large number they cant be cancelled, just banned from what has become echo chambers.

Both sides need changes and they wont be made in the state of polarity encouraged by cancel culture. Cancel culture got big right before politics became super polarized. It has led to an "empathy divide" where many people don't care about the other side.