The Truth About Cancel Culture

One way of elevating your reputation is to claim unearned moral virtue. And so, a huge part of what motivates the “Woke” nonsense that insists that the mere reflexive act of feeling sorry for someone constitutes a moral virtue, is an attempt to claim a reputational status without having to do any of the work whatsoever. To be a good person, you have to be productive. That's hard. And you have to be generous. And that's hard.

And you have to play medium to long-term stable, voluntary games with other people. And that's hard. Nothing but diligent, upward-oriented work over the years puts you in that position. Whereas if you make an unwarranted moral claim, “I'm compassionate”, then, instantly, you're with the angels. And it also allows you to derogate those who you regard as predatory and also enhances your moral virtue.

“Not only am I compassionate, and that makes me good, but and I'm on the side of the angels, but there are the snakes, and they're not in me at all because I'm saintly in all regards”. The snakes have to be somewhere. And the most convenient place to put them is in someone else. That's how "cancel culture" works, by arrogantly and narcissistically discrediting others with different opinions and without putting weight on any logical reason.