I used to get letters from tenure-track but untenured profs saying "Please don't print this, I'm not tenured" ("this" being some mainstream conservative opinion like "abortion is wrong".) Now for the first time, I'm hearing tenured professors express worries about being fired.
And not because they have craftily concealed their crypto-racism, but are worried that the canny investigators of cancel culture are onto them. These are people expressing thoughtful, careful opinions that range from center-right to center-left.
Now, those worries could be paranoia, but as I said the other day, then people within institutions who keep insisting that cancel culture doesn't exist should think about how to reassure their colleagues that they are safe.
