Just finished yet another excellent podcast from the Slate Political stable, one of my go-to weekly programs. Sure, it is American content but there is enough meat to chew on, especially given the quality of the presenters. If I had to characterise its politics, I would say sensibly centre-left, a position I tend to occupy too.

One of the topics this week was cancel culture, something I have written about before. We are not talking about folks who espouse openly racist views or incitements to violence or murder. They are not people who hate minorities or necessarily wish to turn back social reforms. By and large, they are writers, thinkers and academics who cite contrarian views or hold contrarian views themselves.

The right position, it seems to be, the honest position, is for those who are offended to challenge those views in turn. A dialogue ensues. That does not appear to be what is going on, and mores the pity. The moral strengths of an individual can be lost in tumult of the crowd, the latter relying on pure emotion. It is a hunt that is not worth going on.