Author’s note: This article uses the term public discourse to describe a specific type of communication used to gain understanding about matters of shared public concern. Public discourse is a process that involves dialog among trusted parties to discover the best outcomes for a community. Civic discourse is the traditional name for this activity. Unfortunately, civic discourse and civil discourse are now often used to describe rules for civility, politeness and being non-confrontational instead of the productive exchange of knowledge and ideas.
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Washington state was a very different place not that long ago. Disease outbreaks ran their course without the authorities imposing a never-ending medical dictatorship. Where were the public debates about lockdowns and potential remedies for COVID-19?
There were public comments on these issues but not all comments are public discourse even if the speaker is addressing issues relating to governance. Most public comments at our local meetings are statements for the public record. While a three minute presentation is an appropriate format for rants and sales pitches, it is useless for sharing complex information like scientific studies or in depth personal experience in a trade or profession.
Effective public discourse involves dialog. It is a seat at the table. It provides a feedback mechanism that all complex systems require to continue functioning for their intended purpose. A thermostat is necessary to keep a heating system or vehicle engine safe and operational. Complex systems help control train speeds to prevent derailments. Public discourse prevents ignorance and corruption from driving a community off the rails.
Public discourse was once an integral part of the dominant culture in our region. From academia to local watering holes, contrarian views were welcomed and debated – not labeled misinformation and used as evidence to banish someone to the gulag. Over the past several decades, the cancel culture replaced discussion with ostracizing anyone who challenged experts and ideologies favored by powerful government and corporate interests. There is no role for public discourse in the cancel culture.
The Evolution of the Cancel Culture – From Tribal Cohesion to Totalitarianism
Shaming, shunning, and exiling outcasts are ancient tools for dealing with threats to a community like thieves and child molesters. The cancel culture uses these same techniques to enforce loyalty to a political ideology.
My personal experiences with the local cancel culture all involve over-the-top outrage inflicted on individuals who have not harmed anyone, broken any laws, used foul language, or even displayed bad manners. The attackers have no doubts that terrible humans must be purged from their community and they proceed with ruthless precision. The true reasons for the attack are rarely revealed.
One example is a boycott planned to run a small business out of town a few years ago that I was privy to. The owners provided useful services and appeared to support themselves with income from this small business. The alleged reason for the attempted cancellation? People were not comfortable with advertisements the offenders were running in the local Leader newspaper. The ads were cringe-worthy but I never noticed anything kinky or alarming in the ads or my interactions with the owners. I did not join the boycott. I never found out why these people were targeted but I have seen patterns in situations where I had firsthand experience with the cancel culture.
Refusal to join boycotts and hate mongering will mark a person as a potential problem. Questioning or opposing a popular narrative or majority political opinion is unacceptable. It means a person does not share “community values” and is subject to removal. I have witnessed (and thwarted) attempts to have an undesirable evicted from their apartment based on false accusations. Apartment dwellers and small business owners were ideal cancel culture victims in the pre-Covid era – disposable people easily pushed into financial ruin. When totalitarian societies treat people this way, it is called a purge.
“The essence of totalitarianism — regardless of which costumes and ideology it wears — is a desire to completely control society, every aspect of society, every individual behavior and thought. Every totalitarian system, whether an entire nation, a tiny cult, or any other form of social body, evolves toward this unachievable goal… the total ideological transformation and control of every single element of society (or whatever type of social body it comprises). This fanatical pursuit of total control, absolute ideological uniformity, and the elimination of all dissent, is what makes totalitarianism totalitarianism.” – CJ Hopkins, The Great New Normal Purge
Totalitarian systems are effective at controlling the population in the short run. They eventually fail but not before inflicting significant misery on their subjects. Covid tyranny appears more extreme in places infested with an existing cancel culture, for example, Jefferson County and college campuses. Even if the tyrants recently rode in on the SARS-COV-2 virus, they do not appear to be going away anytime soon. Dealing with totalitarians requires recognizing and repelling the destructive purge techniques they use to acquire and maintain power.
Cancel Culture and the Practice of Ritual Defamation
The journey to real and virtual gulags usually begins with character assassination. The technique used across time and cultures is often described as Ritual Defamation:
“Ritual Defamation is used to hurt, to intimidate, to destroy, and to persecute, and to avoid the dialogue, debate and discussion upon which a free society depends. On those grounds it must be opposed no matter who tries to justify its use.” – Laird Wilcox
According to Wilcox,
“the central element is defamation in retaliation for the real or imagined attitudes, opinions or beliefs of the victim, with the intention of silencing or neutralizing his or her influence, and/or making an example of them so as to discourage similar independence and “insensitivity” or non-observance of taboos. It is different in nature and degree from simple criticism or disagreement in that it is aggressive, organized and skillfully applied, often by an organization or representative of a special interest group, and in that it consists of several characteristic elements.”
Learning ritual defamation characteristics is useful for protecting your reputation in the community. Wilcox’s element 2 may be the most difficult and important one to deal with during an attack.
“2. The method of attack in a ritual defamation is to assail the character of the victim, and never to offer more than a perfunctory challenge to the particular attitudes, opinions or beliefs expressed or implied. Character assassination is its primary tool.”
The best defense against Ritual Defamation is to anticipate an attack or at least quickly recognize it is happening if you are taken by surprise. Don’t ever apologize or attempt to justify any alleged character flaw or opinion that has offended your accusers. If someone attacks your character instead of your ideas, they are probably not interested in your opinions.
Eventually these individual attacks eliminate effective public discourse. When the price of challenging a belief system is too high, silence is usually the best short term economic decision especially for someone with limited assets or employment opportunities. Even long term residents may be reluctant to risk their standing in a community that they, and often their ancestors, have built and nurtured.
Lessons from the 4th Grade Mean Girls Club
My grade school classmates defeated the cancel culture of their time. There is much to learn from their success.
Imagine being forced by law to meet with your worst social media tormenters every weekday – in person. That describes my first few months in 4th grade. Several girls formed cliques and started a practice called “blackballing”. This involved identifying outcasts by drawing a black circle on a slip of paper followed by a person’s name. It was never clear why anyone was being blackballed or who would be next.
One day, all the girls were invited to an important meeting after school at Marilyn’s house. There were no adults in the large living room when the three clique leaders stood together an announced the end of cliques and blackballing. The rest of the meeting was spent planning some fun things we could do together.
In the years between that meeting and 8th grade graduation, we had many wonderful times together – parties, picnics, trick or treating and hours playing kick the can in the network of ally-ways behind the school.
The 4th graders first rejected their toxic system and dismantled the leadership structure. They then started rebuilding their community with input from the experts – every kid there who had an idea about what they considered fun. Even though our situation is much more complex, this two part model is useful for evaluating problems and possible solutions.
No End in Sight to an Entrenched Medical Dictatorship
There is always the possibility that the upcoming elections will provide better leadership. Unfortunately, six more months of destruction to essential services could be devastating. Medical care, utilities and schools are mostly public in our region. They are political entities controlled by the Covid tyrants.
Reliable utilities and emergency medical care are essential services for almost everyone. Our local providers made the decision to prioritize Covid tyranny over the well-being of the people who depend on them. There does not appear to be any future here for those of us who cannot afford our own off-grid power system or a helicopter to fly us to trusted health providers.
The legacy news media and the majority of registered voters in Jefferson County appear to favor a medical dictatorship form of government. There are no plans to change the state laws (RCW – Revised Code of Washington) or codes (WAC – Washington Administrative Code) used to justify this abuse of power.
Most elected local officials do not have the capability to evaluate the Covid scientific data themselves. They accept information exclusively from official sources often staffed by bureaucrats with unreliable past performance. There is a preference for authoritarian governance that may not change anytime soon.
Building / Rebuilding
While a voting majority is necessary to rebuild some Covid captured institutions, there are many opportunities for building replacements and walking away from the ones which no longer serve their purpose. Education is the most obvious with the growth of homeschooling.
Another example is the Port Townsend Free Press, which has replaced the area’s legacy media as a source of investigative reporting. Their comment section is a rare local source of diverse opinions. This is a good place to sharpen the public discourse skills that are necessary for citizen-directed governance.
Marie earned a BA in (experimental AKA rat psych) psychology from Columbia University while working as a research assistant in neurochemistry at Columbia Medical Center. She worked in biochemistry research for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company and a national laboratory before her mom years. Later in life she worked in the information technology field as computer programmer and systems analyst. Before retiring in 2010, Marie completed a database project for a state health department. Too many hours of Covid information research during the past two years have taken time away from her digital photography and gardening projects.
Thank you- excellent read! This is knowledge anyone of any party or person of any belief system can benefit from. I am still scared of the virus but I have been much more scared of the hate and ignorance.
Today was a very interesting scene at the EU. The Croatian MEP had some very choice words for Canada’s Trudeau; DICTATOR! The EU meeting also had other members comments that spoke about Trudeau’s violation of human rights, just like in many other countries.
People are coming forward to speak the truth.
Excellent! Well thought, and well said.
Even one of your editors has fallen for this CANCEL CULTURE in the not too distant past. And many have left Port Townsend, or won’t step in PT again; because of the attitude of the MAJORITY Squelching any dissent, anywhere. Work, religious activities, other community activities, grocery shopping, etc. Worse yet, it has INFECTED the rest of Jefferson County, spilling into Clallam County; leaving the ONLY SOURCE of any activity is SOUTH of Jefferson County, That is Jefferson, now Clallam, county’s loss in revenue and any discourse discussing events.
We editors don’t recall ever being fans or enforcers of Cancel Culture per se, but ruefully regret other psyop snares we’ve fallen for in the past. Hoping we’re all wising up over time!
Thanks for being a voice or reason in the intellectual vacuum that exists in Port Townsend.
Outstanding essay, Marie. You struck the proverbial nail squarely on the head as to the strategy and goals of those who control the discourse and the authoritative elements of our community. These have, partially through exclusive and intimidating editorial discourse in the local media (Leader), succeeding in creating and feeding a core of willing adherents, while at the same time “canceling” those who refuse to accept nonsense and lunacy (Climate Change, CRT, Transexuality, Globalism, etc.) as the norm.
Jefferson Health Care is the epitome of tyranny. My sister- in-law recently broke her arm ant went to the ER. Her husband was not allowed in as her medical advocate. I then called Jefferson general anonymously and asked if my husband went to the ER if I would be allowed in? The response was stern and I was told that it depended if the Doctor would allow it! Don’t go to the hospital. Very scary totalitarian authority of corporate hospitals. I have recently had to find a private Osteopathic doctor outside of our area to treat my husband and I. Try to stay well and healthy.
Well said, well written! Some of us who have been here forever talk about being forced to live in “little Chicago” and how people can, “come on vacation and leave on probation.” There is so much bullying, so much corruption, so much injustice, it just astounds me sometimes.
I know local people around here who now have a form of PTSD and avoid going to town because it triggers anxiety and makes them feel sick.
The “poor” around here are also for profit commodities, so we can’t actually lift anyone up or solve problems, or we’ll loose our funding. So you need to stay in your place, you need to remain addicted, homeless, unemployed, not running a business, and therefore under government control.
I experienced having a post I had made be “cancelled” by the moderator of a local “Emergency” group.
I have pasted it here for you to see…. I thought it was simply a post detailing what had happened to a good friend of mine but since it detailed a bad experience from a booster shot the moderator immediately closed comments on it….
I just learned that a very good friend of mine had a reaction from her Moderna booster shot. She had the booster shot and was waiting the required 15 to 20 minutes before leaving when she was observed to pass out…. 911 was called and she was transported to Jefferson General hospital. Within a day or so she was moved to Harrison Hospital for an additional two weeks. She is now home but is taking medication for possible blood clot formation. She required a CT as well as an MRI….
Note…. I am not condemning vaccination or booster shots. I do believe that all positive and negative facts should be available to all to determine their own choices.
As you can see, information that is “bad” about the accepted “truth” can not be allowed….
Well said!
Thank you, Marie for bringing this subject to our community discussion. Dr. Murray Bowen, a psychiatrist and “father” of family therapy has said, “families and social groups affect how people think, feel, and act, but individuals vary in their susceptibility to “group think”. Also, groups vary in the amount of pressure they exert for conformity. The less developed a person’s “self,” the more impact others have on his functioning and the more he tries to control the functioning of others.”
How does one maintain an autonomous self and yet stay connected to family, friends and community? How does the fear of a virus, an imminent war, or the projected outrage of a community group hinder the development of a coherent self? To stay an autonomous self in the face of politically generated fear takes a self that is able to differentiate between thoughts and feelings. For a self to remain stable and differentiated one must be able to face the emotion of fear, understand that fear and the sources generating it and then allow it to pass.
The Dr. Bowen quote also points out that a more susceptible individual to “group think” will then, after conforming to a fearful narrative, try to control others. This is what we are dealing with, groups of less developed “selves” that have conformed to and then will do all they can to control others who oppose their narrative. A well differentiated self will seek their own researched counsel. A less differentiated self will conform. Critical thinking depends on the former, the differentiated self.
The fear of being outside of the group narrative and the recipient of a counter-culture narrative produces psychological stress. It is this stress which causes us to choose between conforming to group think or individualization. Our government understands how groups think and react. When they pit one belief system against another they then create the stress that allows us to choose. We all must, as we mature, learn to free ourselves from the fabricated web of directive and/ or mandated narratives and rules, and allow ourselves to grow past the pressure to conform and then proselytize. Our very lives, as true human beings, depend on it.
Elegantly put, Il Corvo. I would add that those of us who believe that we’re above groupthink are still susceptible to other logical fallacies, therefore it behooves us to remain forever humble and ready to correct course. That’s been my personal lesson over the last couple years in particular.
Thanks Ben for your comment. I might add that it also behooves each of us to do the personal work which might allow us to see how we have learned, especially in our families of origin, to react to stress. When we are overwhelmed with a stressor such as fear, do we latch onto an authority figure, medicate that stress, deny it, or blame someone or something? Many families relieve stress by triangulation, which is to bring someone else into a one to one relationship so we can talk about our stressor instead of resolving the issue directly. This might be the evolution of the phenomenon of groupthink. Each of us has the ability to see how we were taught to handle stress, be aware of that learned response and then work to change by separating our fearful response from our critical thinking process. And that might be the aspect of humility that you refer to.
The trouble with allowing adverse effects commentaries about these jabs is that, truth be told, very few people would consent to play roulette with their health. This is just the beginning of their nefarious plans for non conforming trouble makers, truth is the enemy because it will be the victor! Stand firm.
Great article, thank you. I think if we are to have any measure of success, we need to push past any desire of fitting in while not being offensive. This is an era requiring strong individuality in an era of extreme group think and consensus thought that has been expanded upon by social media engineering. And make no mistake, I mean engineering quite literally, psychological engineering that reinforces group think. My 4th grade experience was similar, only different. As the new kid in town, I was blackballed. It was very hard on me and numerous times I broke out in hives. I remember the girls kicking dirt on me on one occasion. My mother took me in for a talk with my fabulous 4th grade teacher. He told me that I needed to ask myself if this was my problem or if it was their problem. And he told me I needed to develop a thick skin. I have carried that lesson with me for nearly 50 years and it has held me in incredibly good stead. I have never trusted groups since but I have been able to successfully negotiate with them.
Good article. I’m a in your face kind of guy when I post something. here, I’m sure some or many oppose my feelings. So be it. I may be looked at as out of it too far. make no mistake, this is a war, However, that’s the way it is. This is a great forum for people to put their feelings and observations out and possibly get things changed. I’ve gone too far at times and the post was taken off. I understand why and move on to the next post. This is the only forum where anyone can post their ideas and feelings for the world to see. Keep up the good work alive!!
You, who are on the road, must have a code, that you can live by.
And so, BECOME YOURSELF. Because the past, is just a goodbye.
Gratitude for all the times I didn’t fit in, and didn’t want to.
Gratitude to those that ever scorned me and tested my resolve and inner core.
Gratitude for living long enough to see where some paths of least resistance led some to, and being able to see where some around me are headed to, gliding effortlessly on their chosen slippery slope of least resistance.
God bless the child that’s got their own. (Sense of self)
Teach your children well.
Great to read this article, Marie. I like how you mention the importance of complexity. Disagreement leads to complexity which leads to resilience. Without tension, things falls apart. We need this tension to spark conversation, kindle attraction and maintain a thriving village together.
Earlier this morning I was pondering the importance of disagreement in society and imagined the unaligned and divergent ideas as threads running in different directions rather than together. That’s what makes the fabric strong. After reading your piece, I realize that the true source of strength in the metaphor is the interweaving of those threads, which is to say, the public discourse. That’s what turns the complicated into the complex, and that’s what makes all the difference.
I find it interesting that at the same time you say you accept disagreement that you are engaged in stifling disagreement. The entire PT City council is lying to the people.
Love the tapestry metaphor
The Elite in Port Townsend are well on their way to cancelling themselves.
Thank you for all the thoughtful comments here on the PTFP site. It gives me strength for dealing with people who are not able to differentiate between being offended by mean words and life threatening totalitarian capture of essential services like medical care.
I can live with the mean words. I have started collecting them as trophies. This Facebook comment is in the mis-Leader newspaper league: “Cancel Culture is a meme used by Racists and Extremists when their abhorrent ideology is attacked, that is the reason “Criminalizing Lynching” was just passed this March 2022 …”