When I gave a talk in 2018, members of the men's club I founded, the Proud Boys, got into a small fight with Antifa. It wasn't a big deal, but the Democrats and their media outlets decided to use this incident as a counterpoint to all the leftist violence that was happening at the time. With the midterm elections approaching, we needed a bad guy to attack Donald Trump's campaign. What followed was a smear campaign that landed me and my family ostracized. two proud boys In prison.
Some people supported us. Of these people, I couldn't help but notice that all of them had experienced some sort of trauma. They were betrayed by a friend during their divorce. They lost loved ones to illness. They raised themselves from extreme poverty. They had a disabled son.
(Full disclosure: My cancellation included being fired from Blaze Media on my first day on the job, but I forgive them since it was under a different committee at the time.)
I also noticed (and Louis C.K. agree) that the people who stuck with us were disproportionately black. I think the reason is because they don't read trash leftist blogs and generally see the whole “war on racism” as a white-on-white thing.
But I don't want to talk about the people who supported us. As the saying goes, “Hard times make strong people, strong people make good times, good times make weak people, and weak people make difficult times.” I would like to talk about “weak men.” They include friends, family, and strangers who fit into his five categories:
1) sheep
These people have no passion for politics. They may be on your side politically. They just don't want to stick their neck out.
Sheep can be your neighbors, colleagues, strangers, and even relatives. The stupidest thing you can do is try to convince them. They don't care how innocent you are. They just want to avoid trouble.
I think the sheep is the meanest of the five. If a war breaks out, these people will be the first to hand you over. These are women who had their heads shaved in France in 1944 for sleeping with the enemy or sleeping with them.horizontal collaboration” At least the people who hate you have the courage to stand up for their beliefs. Not a sheep. As Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
2) Shockers
Of all the categories of cancellers you may know, this group is the strangest. About 5% of the people who cut you out of your life are people you once trusted deeply. These are friends and family members who know the “real you” but have decided to take the word of a recent college graduate in the Daily Beast over yours. It could be your little sister who taught you how to ride a bike, or your mother. They tend to have very low IQs, but other than that, I just don't understand this group. Something like “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
I don't think people who haven't been canceled can understand how far the cancelers have gone.
I can think of four people who really surprised me. Her wife's best friend of 35 years said, “We have to take a break from our friendship for a while,'' and her wife said, “What are you going to do if we divorce?''
My old bandmate, a man I've known since I was 14, stopped answering my calls. So did an elderly babysitter for my children and a former neighbor. The weird thing about the last two is that they told incredibly racist jokes and were some of the most politically incorrect people I know. I responded to one of them, “Did you mean that I said all black people needed to go back to Africa, or that I denied the Holocaust?'' She didn't laugh.
3) Activists
This group is almost always female, disproportionately Jewish (secular), and either childless or in a disastrous marriage. In my case, they were all into the Proud Boys, some of whom had made entire careers researching the club.
The group includes “Hatewatch” journalists who have dedicated their lives to catching straight, white, conservative men saying “inappropriate” things. Imagine choosing journalism as a career and focusing on something like that. unrelated A part of American life. Our borders are wide open, 30 black people are killed by other black people every day, and 6 Americans overdose every hour. But yeah, my NASCAR driver father said the N-word in the 1980s, so let's ruin his life.
Amy Siskind is a local activist who held a vigil near my home after the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting to show families that “hate has no place here.” I threatened you. We went to her house in Siskind and explained it to her. it didn't happen. Ms. Siskind is a proud lesbian with two children whose marriage fell apart because of her homosexuality.
Farah Kaswari is also a local activist. She put a sign on my lawn that said, “Hate has no place here.” (They think in the same cliché.) Kaswari's brother dropped out of medical school and qualified as a doctor. jihadist And died for Allah in Afghanistan. She heard that her marriage fell apart after her husband got drunk at a party and molested another woman.
These bitter interventionists seem determined to destroy their own lives and ensure that we share in their pain. They are especially obsessed with deporting me. Of course, that doesn't mean my ideas disappear. You can do a show anywhere. But it would confuse my family and hurt my children. That's the goal. Leftists hate families.
4) Pros and cons
Some people can't even get angry. They may survive a controversy or two.
When I was fired for saying, “Trans people are just mentally ill homosexuals,'' many people in this category stood by. But when the Proud Boys hit the fans, they had to let me go.
Hollywood is in such an alarming state that my actor and comedian friends didn't really have a choice. If they were seen with me, their career would be over, and I'm not willing to sacrifice anyone's livelihood.
There was a couple who held a big Christmas party every year. one by one Some of their friends said that if my wife and I attended, they would no longer come to the party. I told him to choose a Christmas party.
I don't think people who haven't been canceled can understand how far the cancelers have gone. My brother's wedding was canceled because the catering staff boycotted the wedding when they found out he was my brother. His career as an app developer was also ruined. He is currently working in construction.
Now, some of you may say, “If you're so hard on the sheep, why do you ignore their agreements and disagreements?” Because the sheep have nothing to lose. I'm not going to get fired for not putting up a sign on my lawn or letting my kids play on my lawn. They participate in cancel culture out of sheer cowardice. That's despicable.
5) Shrug your shoulders
This group is like a combination of supporters, opponents, and sheep. They do whatever the team tells them to do. When the DNC tells them to abandon their Republican friends, they will obey.
I had good friends in the comedy world and we had kids of a similar age, so our family vacationed together. Our favorite part was watching the wives complain to each other about the way the dishwasher was loaded. I sent him a photo of a bowl propped up on a top shelf with the caption, “Explain how she thought this was more than just something to fill with hot water.” Ta.
Five years later, he ended our friendship with an email that read: “I opened the annoying dishwasher the other day. But I didn't text you about it because we both knew it was coming and I thought maybe that day had come.” I thought it was a joke. He then clarified that “Trump could break the deal.” This happened at the beginning of the cancellation, before things really got serious. Leftist media told their supporters which side to choose, and everyone fell in line.
This last group may be the most boring and most interesting of the five groups. Their departure is mundane, but the dynamic behind it is fascinating. We went through a state divorce. As with any normal divorce, there is no going back. Ask people who have been divorced for several years what the odds are that they will get back together with their ex-boyfriend. Usually dry heat is used.
Also, similar to divorce, the following will be forced: select side. No one stays in Switzerland for long. You can't invite Mike and his new girlfriend to dinner and expect his ex-wife to join as well. It would be like an MMA weigh-in.
So to those who shrug, I shrug back. It's over. Turning your back on half the country when half the country has lost its mind is not polarization.
Ideally, the side we elect would win the next election and Donald Trump would put all these spoiled brats in their place. Because if the sheep, shockers, activists, pro-lifers, naysayers, and shruggers get their way, we are in for some very difficult times.
