Thread by @PennyRed

Actually, since people are once again trashing me for things I didn’t say and positions I didn’t take two years ago, I’ve a thing or two to say about being ‘cancelled’. Listen up, this isn’t going where you might think it’s going.

https://twitter.com/PennyRed/status/1107141165764075525

When I wrote what I still believe we’re good pieces about Milo and his followers, a lot of people came down hard calling me a fascist myself because I was apparently ‘friends with a fascist’ and painting members of the alt-right as merely ‘misunderstood’ and not dangerous. >

>neither of these things were true. I also took care not to repeat any of Milo’s messaging. But I was unable to control the story that they were, that I was the worst person ever and basically promoting white supremacy. A lot of friends turned on me >

> it was the worst pile on I’ve ever had, and I had at that point had years of trashing and call-outs- most in bad faith and some in good faith, most invalid but some really valid- over the years. It was horrible. And it didn’t stop for months. My mental health suffered. >

> but after a while, with the help of good friends, I was able to separate the valid criticism and the people who had just been misinformed from the sadism, the jeering and the misogyny. I found a new core of personal and political integrity within myself which is unshakeable. >

> and I understand that I can’t change what some people think of me, and for whatever reason I may never really have comrades as I once did before getting repeatedly ‘cancelled’. Now, this is traditionally the moment when people give up on ‘the left’ and their politics drift. >

> I think that’s bullshit and a cop-out. Just because a lot of people every day on the internet call me a sell-out, a hypocrite, a fascist enabler and a fake feminist is no reason to prove them right. The opposite.
I continue to write. I continue to have radical politics. >

> the only thing that has changed about my politics is that I pay more attention to where kindness is operating, and where sadism is at play. And I’m more careful about who I let tell me who I am and what my politics are. >

> most of all, I will not allow anyone, especially at times like this, to tell me I’m not allowed to be an anti-fascist. You don’t want me on your march? You don’t want me at your party? That’s fine. I’ll still work in any way I can to fight against bigotry and fascism. >

> HERE IS THE IMPORTANT BIT. These days, when I hear people talk so fearfully about ‘cancelling’, I can’t help but hear cowardice. Don’t get me wrong, being publicly shamed by your own ‘side’ sucks mightily. But it’s survivable. I survived and thrived and I am fragile as fuck. >

> the idea that you would allow ‘cancelling’, or the fear of it, to change the way you operate politically in the world is abhorrent to me. Politics shouldn’t just be based on whoever is nicest to you. >

> I’ll be honest, there are certain people on the left I really don’t want to hang out with ever again if I can help it, because i don’t like spending time with people who have been cruel and rude to me. But I still fight for those same things, even if doing so alone is ...>

> really very lonely sometimes, and I miss having comrades. But it’s okay. It’s not the worst thing to happen to anyone ever. I’ve been lonely before.
And as part of this process I’ve discovered that I have an ethical compass that I can trust to steer me right. Which is great. >

> I have far fewer fucks to give and very little personal time for people who don’t show me respect, and that’s good too. And if I was ever swayed in my behavior by not wanting to piss off a particular group of ideologues, that’s not likely to happen again. Which is also good >

> I have not become rigid, or unresponsive to critique. I don’t think ‘the left’ are wrong or evil just because they’ve been dicks to me in the past. I’m sure I’ll get another pile-on just for writing this, but that’s ok. It’s expected. I’m not seeking to explain or apologise. >

> TLDR I got cancelled, it was awful, and if I can go through that and become a person with better politics and more integrity then seriously, ANYONE can. I’m ridiculously sensitive, anxious, non-neurotypical. It is NOT hard to come out of this sort of thing with your chin up.

Well, actually, it is hard, but it’s non-optional and very doable, and sometimes you’ve just got to suck it up.

Addendum: I did however decide that it might be a healthy life choice not to spend ALL my time sitting in a room by myself beating my head against the internet.
So now alongside my essays and journalism, I also write for television.
And you know what?
I’m really good at it.

[Classic Airbender move TBH]