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Jim Wills's avatar

Frankly, it's a First-World problem. These "cancelers" have needs of their own, and at the top of the list is a thirst for attention. I just don't get why they are in any way a problem for anybody.

First, get your rump off of social media. I have a Facebook account so I can keep up with my high-school classmates, but I never post; I IM (Is that the right thing to call it?) privately. Always. I don't do Twitter or any of the others. I just don't. If you're not there, they can't gang up on you.

Second: Never, never, never, never apologize. For anything, great or small. If you feel a little scrappy, double down just to tweak their noses a little. And check your feed no more than once a week; if it causes you anxiety, go to three weeks.

Third: the greatest phrase ever invented. Piss off. Don't engage in long conversations. Don't explain yourself; don't criticize the cancellers. Just say, "Piss off," and move on. It will kill their soul. My face-to-face version of that is a vertical finger - "This is for you," followed by the horizontal finger - "This is for your horse." Then walk away. Remember: if you engage, you are saying that what they say matters. Get it through your thick skull: it does not.

All best to you.

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BarefootGreg's avatar

"Does the fact that Roman has been bullied into a terror of lentils help anyone in any tangible way?"

Precisely.

I regularly wonder, is anyone actually better off with all the wokeness? Like, do people of colour thrive more now that we're so woke? Is violence, or threats thereof, down?

I don't imagine so. I imagine there's just more segregation and more division and less understanding and empathy.

Thoughtful critiques like yours, Tara, will surely help get us back on track.

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