So, there's more to expand on the subject than I can just type out off the cuff, but I think evaluating this forum carries out its "cancel culture" is a complex situation that may merit discussion. I was thinking post of posting a thread on it and haven't finished writing it out.
Since the discussion is already happening here, I'll jot down some of my thoughts in no particular order to lend to it.
- Anyone from 4chan can wander onto Era and make an account. There is little that is fundamentally different between the userbases of internet forums except as defined by the forum's main topic. Things like strong moderation are necessary to steer the community in a particular direction.
- Criticism of individuals for harmful behaviour can lose sight of its purpose and become a toxic source of entertainment, such as a freak show
- The political axis is not a scale of good versus evil; if "our side" or any other loses sight of its values, it simply collapses into dynasticism wherein its main goal is to maintain its power by any means necessary
- The conversation is muddled by bad actors; people who don't care about any issue or support bigotry and simply want to shut down discussions on important topics. See: low post count drivebys
- The presence of bad actors confuses individuals into viewing any criticism as coming from a bad actor
- Far right rhetoric often relies on spreading stereotypes of the left to the whole spectrum; for example, the term "SJW" was apparently originally meant for people who didn't care about real social justice issues and latches onto topics that affect no one, but the term has been stretched as a catch-all for anyone who speaks about any social justice issue to demean the entire effort
- The presence of distorted criticism confuses individuals into viewing all criticism as invalid
- Racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of bigotry can demand that affected individuals, out of self-preservation, to be aggressive against those that might perpetuate those issues in
- "Cancel culture" develops in part out of necessity and can be a valid tool; for example, #MeToo arose because the legal system has been historically weak and prosecuting sex crimes, so women benefit from a means outside the legal system with which to seek justice
- The perpetrator is also a stakeholder in the incident, and ideally, should be able to grow from it. This isn't necessarily going to happen, and isn't even necessarily likely to happen, but the possibility should exist and be encouraged. Bigotry doesn't necessarily mean that you're black-hearted monster, and that should be kept in mind in both the defensive and the offensive. It can be something that is passively absorbed from an environment where bigoted ideas are common, it can arise out of apathy or insensitivity towards others, or it can arise out of the hostility. While hostility is what comes to mind when people think of a "racist" or "bigot", it's only one possible motivation.
I'm sure there's more to say on it, but without going into paragraphs, that's what I've got.
EDIT: Actually, added a little bit more.