Right-wingers embrace cancel culture over 'tawdry' Trump shooting jokes: analysis

Right-wing media outlets have repeatedly attacked the left for "cancel culture," and not all of the criticism has come from the right. Former President Barack Obama has complained that cancel culture has gone too far, and "Real Time" host Bill Maher has argued that progressives need to aggressively debate conservatives they disagree with — not try to silence them.

But in an article published on July 19, The Spectator's Brendan O'Neill cites an example of "cancel culture" coming from the right: Donald Trump supporters trying to shut down people who have made "tawdry" comments following the attempted assassination that Trump survived during a campaign rally in Western Pennsylvania on July 13.

"People who've made tawdry comments about the shooting are being hunted, doxxed, shamed, sacked," O'Neill observes. "Most decent folk will think it is wrong to make wisecracks about an incident in which a presidential candidate was targeted for death and an ordinary citizen was killed. I do. But should it be a cancellable offence, a reputation-shattering crime? I'm not sure it should."

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O'Neill cites the comedy duo Tenacious D as an example, noting that their tour was canceled after a tasteless joke about Trump during an appearance in Sydney, Australia.

"Crass? Yes," O'Neill writes. "Too soon? Sure. But a speech crime of such epic proportions that Tenacious D must now consider its future? That's an overreaction, surely?.... We need some perspective here."

The journalist adds, "A 64-year-old comedy rocker making fun of a tragic incident might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is not the end of the world."

O'Neill emphasizes that some far-right Trump supporters who decry "cancel culture" are guilty of the very thing they rail against.

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"So this is what we have to look forward to if Trump ousts Biden?" O'Neill laments. "Four more years of cancel culture? Those of us whose commitment to free speech is principled rather than contingent, who think everyone from JK Rowling to the Home Depot lady should enjoy the liberty of expression, really do have our work cut out for us."

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Read Brendan O'Neill's full article for The Spectator at this link.