A lot has been written about the phenomenon of "cancel culture." Most of the material I have read on this topic has been decidedly in the pejorative, arguing that a small group of left-wing activists are out to ostracize anyone who is perceived to have given offence in a particular way. There are others who say that cancel culture does not exist at all and is a figment of the right-wing imagination. Many commentators sit somewhere roughly between these two positions. Me, well I tend to think that it is an intensification of politically correct conduct.

It is a hot fact that in the present age, offence can be taken by anyone relatively easily. Being a subjective thing, offence comes in many flavours. What offends one person may not offend another. Different political affiliations, age groups, cultural dispositions and identity classes are keenly important in how people see the world and themselves in it. There are many triggers for causing offence and it is not always possible to know where the boundaries lie.

Empathy allows us to enter into the world of another person, even if only superficially at first. If you see things through another's eyes then you are less likely to cause them offence in the first place. I suspect a lot of what passes for 'offence-giving' is probably just an ill-advised response to the demands of certain groups for what is a perfectly reasonable quest for equality. However, sometimes those demands seem to be a grab for something more than equality. Resentful remarks about this or that 'majority' or 'mainstream' group are unlikely to elicit much sympathy either and can be the trigger for aggressive push-back.

I have a high tolerance for outrageous comments, though I often disagree with them. That doesn't make me any kind of free speech absolutist - I'm not - but rather, a man who has made his fair share of silly, ill-timed and over-the-top utterances. Sometimes I have paid a price for them, though I have never been 'cancelled.' It's a foolish concept really, whether it exists or not.