Sure, there's concept creep, hard cases, sloganeering, etc., but I think that, at its core, the concept is reasonably clear: it's an attempt to use the methods of public shaming to turn the target into a social pariah (not just to make them unemployed but unemployable), and in response to a statement that the listener finds offensive. So…
Sure, there's concept creep, hard cases, sloganeering, etc., but I think that, at its core, the concept is reasonably clear: it's an attempt to use the methods of public shaming to turn the target into a social pariah (not just to make them unemployed but unemployable), and in response to a statement that the listener finds offensive. So your case, I think, isn't a paradigm case of cancellation. Neither is the holocaust denial case you describe, but it would be if you used your mighty perch to make your former employee persona non grata.
Sure, there's concept creep, hard cases, sloganeering, etc., but I think that, at its core, the concept is reasonably clear: it's an attempt to use the methods of public shaming to turn the target into a social pariah (not just to make them unemployed but unemployable), and in response to a statement that the listener finds offensive. So your case, I think, isn't a paradigm case of cancellation. Neither is the holocaust denial case you describe, but it would be if you used your mighty perch to make your former employee persona non grata.