Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Jerry Coyne as opponent of Cancel Culture

Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

Surprising to some, perhaps, a useful source of information about and opposition to Cancel Culture is Darwinian evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne:


One used to hear many people say “Cancel Culture is so ridiculous, it will go away soon.”

Well, that’s not happening. Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne, who usually writes about other matters, discusses two representative incidents: The removal of a book review at Science-Based Medicine written by one of its own editors because it was deemed too friendly to Abigail Shrier’s book, Irreversible Damage (2021), on the 4,400% rise from from 2008 to 2018 of teenage females seeking to transition to males — and the curious absence of rigorous studies that might account for the astounding increase. Coyne notes

I read Shrier’s book and thought it was fair, empathic, and certainly not transphobic. But because Shrier was unfairly accused of transphobia for simply calling for more research on a topic that deserves it, it seems like SBM got cold feet. They replaced [editor and reviewer] Hall’s review with three negative articles about Shrier’s conclusions, saying that Hall’s analysis failed to meet SBM’s standards for “high quality scientific evidence and reasoning to inform medical issues.” (September 26, 2021)

JERRY COYNE, “EX-EDITOR OF SCIENCE-BASED MEDICINE CHEWS THE SITE’S TUCHAS FOR ITS TREATMENT OF ABIGAIL SHRIER’S BOOK” AT WHY EVOLUTION IS TRUE
Friedrich March in Best Years of Our Lives, 1946

The previous day, Coyne had noted the renaming of the Friedrich March theatre at the University of Michigan — despite the protests of the anti-racist NAACP. Friedrich March was a famous mid-twentieth century actor, well known for fighting racism at a time when that was much less popular than it is today. His sin was that he had belonged for a few years to a campus organization confusingly called “KKK,” that had no actual connection to or leanings toward the white racist KKK.

A life of anti-racism and liberalism. Shouldn’t that count more than belonging to a fraternity bearing the KKK name but having nothing at all to do with the real KKK or its philosophy?

You know the answer: NO. In 2018, a student-run council of the University voted 8-2 to remove March’s name from the Fredric March Play Circle: the auditorium named in his honor. By that time March was dead, so he didn’t live to see himself dishonored. (September 25, 2021)

JERRY COYNE, “MORE WOKENESS IN WISCONSIN” AT WHY EVOLUTION IS TRUE (SEPTEMBER 25, 2021)

So the short answer is that Cancel Culture is not going away any time soon. For two reasons: Wokeness enables people lacking minimum competence, let alone talent, to parade as Important In the Fight Against Injustice. Despite incompetence, their Virtue enables them to fail upward. Second, the drip feed of social media poison guarantees them supporters. If anything, the Wokeness may just be getting started.

More at “Database! One stop shop for tracking attacks by Cancel Culture ”


The College Fix now offers a bird’s eye view of Cancel Culture’s bullies, vandals, and self-appointed censors. Looking at a number of entries at once helps us grasp the extent of the takeover of our culture, especially at universities, by grievance mobs:

You can learn, for example: Libraries remove dozens of books that offend students (Georgetown University); University capitulates and removes John Wayne exhibit (University of Southern California); College accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ after ‘mostly white’ choir sings black spirituals (University of Western Michigan); Pro-Hong Kong art display removed after Chinese students complain (University of Missouri Kansas City); or Black student complaint about Black History Month menu gets black employees canned (New York University).

News, “Database! One stop shop for tracking attacks by Cancel Culture” at Mind Matters News

Perhaps the next database the public needs is: The extent of public financial support for people whom we inappropriately flatter if we call them anything but “mobs.”

Comments
The previous day, Coyne had noted the renaming of the Friedrich March theatre at the University of Michigan — despite the protests of the anti-racist NAACP. Friedrich March was a famous mid-twentieth century actor, well known for fighting racism at a time when that was much less popular than it is today. His sin was that he had belonged for a few years to a campus organization confusingly called “KKK,” that had no actual connection to or leanings toward the white racist KKK.
I agree entirely with Coyne on this case. It's as ill-judged as previous incidents where complaints have been lodged about the use of the word "niggardly".Seversky
October 2, 2021
October
10
Oct
2
02
2021
10:07 AM
10
10
07
AM
PDT
You know cancel culture/marxism is out of control when liberals start crying out about it... Bill Maher, professor from Portland state, Coyne...zweston
October 2, 2021
October
10
Oct
2
02
2021
07:08 AM
7
07
08
AM
PDT
Why should Jerry Coyne, an avowed atheist and materialist, be concerned about cancel culture? After all, the only thing that should matter to Jerry Coyne, an avowed atheist and materialist, is that might makes right. If the proponents of cancel culture can force the narrative they want others to adopt, then too bad for truth, which really can't exist in the materialist paradigm, anyway. Nonsense begets nonsense.OldArmy94
September 30, 2021
September
09
Sep
30
30
2021
11:57 AM
11
11
57
AM
PDT

Leave a Reply