Royal Alexander/Opinion

Though I disagree with what you say, I will defend with my life your right to say it (attribution: Voltaire)

“Cancel Culture.” A cancerous outgrowth of Political Correctness that demands that anyone with the courage to share a thought that doesn’t conform to Leftist Group Think be shouted down, silenced; cancelled. It is occurring daily at every level in our society.

Think of Robert Unanue, CEO of Goya Foods, who praised and thanked President Trump at the White House for the economic policies that have allowed his company to thrive and prosper. Heavily criticized for the remarks, he’s courageously said he’s not apologizing for them.

Think of the cowardly New York Times and its decision regarding U.S. Senator Tom Cotton’s article, “Send In the Troops.” Sen. Cotton merely argued that, during the protesting, rioting, and looting after the death of George Floyd, the Insurrection Act could be invoked to deploy the military across the country to assist local law enforcement. The article ran in the NYT online version but caused such controversy among Times staffers that it was not run in the print version as had been planned. Cotton’s article was not printed because he had an idea, shared by millions of Americans, that offended the Leftist sensitivities of younger NYT staff.

Think of Gary Garrels, who until recently was a curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He resigned his position after museum employees accused him of racism and demanded he be fired. His grave offense? He ended a presentation about diversifying the museum’s finances by saying, “don’t worry, we will definitely still continue to collect white artists.”
Think of Grant Napear, the longtime TV and radio talk show host of the Sacramento Kings. He was swiftly fired by the Kings. His offense? When asked by a former Kings player for his opinion of Black Lives Matter, he replied “All Lives Matter…Every Single One!!!”
Think of Emmanuel Cafferty, a Mexican American, fired from his position at San Diego Gas and Electric after a fellow driver took a picture of his arm hanging out of one of the company’s trucks. He was accused of making a gesture with his fingers. The gesture — made by forming a circle with the thumb and index finger — has supposedly been used in recent years by white supremacists to form the letters W and P. However, it’s also been used for decades to convey that all is “Ok.” Cafferty claims he was just cracking his knuckles. “When my supervisor said that I was being accused of doing a white supremacist gesture, that was baffling,” Cafferty said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get over this, but to lose your dream job for playing with your fingers, that’s a hard pill to swallow,” Cafferty said. “It’s scary that you can be charged, tried and convicted on social media, without your permission, with no corroborating evidence, of any type.”

The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Natchitoches Parish Journal.  If you have an article or story of interest for publishing consideration by the NPJ, please send it to NPJNatLa@gmail.com