Collin May's book, "From Cancel Culture to Incarceration Culture," explores the evolution of cancel culture in Canada, a phenomenon where individuals face social and professional punishment for their views. Drawing from his own experiences, May argues that this culture has morphed into a more serious issue.
1. Personal Experience: Collin May, a former head of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, faced backlash for a book review he wrote years earlier. Critics accused him of promoting Islamophobia, leading to his forced resignation. This incident illustrates the dangers of cancel culture in Canada.
2. Political Correctness in Canada: May highlights that Canada has stricter regulations than the U.S. regarding free speech. These include strong human-rights tribunals and a culture that allows bureaucrats to enforce ideological conformity.
3. Impact of Apologies: The book discusses the psychological aspects of cancel culture, particularly why targets often apologize even when they believe they are innocent. Apologies can frequently be used against them, intensifying their punishment.
4. Participants in Cancellation: May identifies three key players in any cancellation event: the target, those who seek to cancel, and the institutions that enforce punishment, which he terms "institutional betrayal."
5. Emergence of Incarceration Culture: May suggests that cancel culture has evolved into "incarceration culture," where ideologically driven penalties, such as loss of professional licenses, become more common. This represents a serious escalation beyond social media backlash.
6. Prosecutorial Democracy: The concept of "prosecutorial democracy" refers to the government and administrative bodies enforcing ideological conformity through coercive means rather than democratic discourse.
Collin May's work sheds light on the troubling trends in cancel culture, particularly in how it can transcend social stigmatization to impose serious consequences through institutional powers. His insights serve as a warning about the growing control of ideological enforcement in society.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/collin-may-cancel-culture-book-canada
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