Nor is this in any way new. The original left-wing cancel culture was the Jacobin reign of terror during the French Revolution.

Right now, in this era, with this Republican party? Yes, yes it does. ;)

It's obvious half the country has questionable morals (or at least values or sense). A little under half the voters elected Donald Trump president.

Please don't take HN threads further into partisan or political or ideological flamewar.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Demonizing people who have a different upbringing, culture, and worldview as being wrong just because they don't share a set of values with you is to be part of the problem.

It's a modern analog of a European explorer viewing native Africans as savages because they don't have the same culture and values that you do.

That's an interesting point of view that ignores the fact many of us grew up in conservative Republican families.

I grew up in a socially conservative Republican family, and became liberal in my late teens. And that's exactly why I am against ostracizing people who hold conservative Republican views.

I became a liberal today because liberals took the time to have civil conversations me about my intolerance, and I realized that liberals were right. I am grateful to the people who did that for me, and I want to extend the same courtesy to others.

Pragmatically, if liberals had ostracized me or "canceled" me, it's quite likely that I would still hold those intolerant views today. By taking the stance that "we don't talk to Republicans", liberals are cutting off the only mechanism by which Republicans become liberals. And those people who you alienate instead of converting become angry, and that anger motivates them to go to the polls. Do you want Trump to get re-elected? Because what you're doing is contributing to Trump getting re-elected.

Your points are very well stated and need to be reiterated loud and clear if we are to have a hope of bridging the divide in the U.S. Bravo!

> It's obvious half the country has questionable morals (or at least values or sense).

My guess is that ~80% of the US believes that this is true.

> It's obvious half the country has questionable morals

Just because someone disagrees with you or has different priorities or ideals doesn't make them bad people. If anything, this says more about you than it does about them.

I'm no trump supporter, but that's a straw man. Not every person who voted for trump believes those things. It seems like you're the intolerant one here, who pigeon holes people into neat little buckets.

Dang, please explain why commentators like this are not shadowbanned.

Its a new account, the moderators can't know if an account should be banned until they've posted and been flagged enough. They can't work magic.