Thread by @Phrenotopian

@PhenomenonCC No worries. Like you, I was also talking about the context of American society at large. Even though you already said you agree, let me hark back at the influence of normalization of attitudes with something more concrete. Just to be sure we're talking about the same thing.
(1)

@PhenomenonCC Let's say someone is making jokes in the public sphere about how "black people are so lazy". And let's say this is shrugged off by most people hearing it. Maybe our comedian doesn't really mean it, but it still starts to become part of the common discourse & thus normalized.
(2)

@PhenomenonCC Now it may become sort of a trope and many people start repeating it for laughs. There will likely be 3 groups of people: Some who know it's just a joke, some who think there may be some truth to it, and some who think it's factual, because why else is everybody saying it?
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@PhenomenonCC Now suppose someone from the latter two groups is responsible for hiring people at his company. He may have to choose to hire either a non-black or black person. I'm sure most people will see how his decisions may be "coloured", pun not intended, even if only subconsciously.
(4)

@PhenomenonCC This is already a good reason to be mindful of how one expresses oneself about others, and also to remind others of how to behave. This is actually normal mechanisms in society meant to civilize its members through peer pressure and example.

But what's gone wrong in the US?
(5)

@PhenomenonCC Things seem to be escalating at an accelerating rate. It's gone from "don't be a jerk" to what many perceive as "language policing" enforced by "angry mobs" of "activists". Terms like "political correctness", "SJWs" and "cancel culture" are thrown around to describe it.
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@PhenomenonCC I witnessed the birth of the internet & the global community it spawned. As a relatively naive European with a tendency to put my foot in my mouth, I too have on occasion received my share of blowback and though unpleasant, it never went further than mere words.
(7)

@PhenomenonCC At first I was dismayed by my detractors, but after been learning more about what's going in US society & Western societies in general, I gained a better understanding and even sympathy for where it ultimately came from.

I'll just leave it there for the moment.
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@PhenomenonCC But you were lamenting how the so-called "cancel culture" were having consequences for certain people, because many take their outrage online and to the platforms/employers. Companies may tend to comply, because they don't want to lose customers. So it's no longer just words.
(9)

@PhenomenonCC Somewhat facetiously I could retort that those are just "free market forces" at work. And this very same "free market" already leads to some people get a worse deal in society.

Remember my example of someone having to decide to hire a black person or not?
(10)

@PhenomenonCC So "cancel culture" may lead to some people, expressing prejudices or insensitivities, losing their platform or maybe even their job. To that one could simply say: Welcome to most of the rest of society! Most of us don't have huge platforms and many not even good jobs.
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