Canceling

"CANCEL CULTURE" is a term I'd begun to encounter a tad too often lately, so I googled it. As I had suspected, I found that it means withholding support for a person, organization, movement, or idea due to having become offended by it. When its  an organized effort, its a boycott. Much like "political correctness'its basically a good thing, well intentioned, but, like all good things, can get out of hand if overused. Right wingers generally regard cancel culture as horrible, like they do political correctness, and the term is used derisively.Conservatives attribute both to liberal excess, and most of them consider their existence a sure sing of culture, i.e. conservative cultural decline. heaven forbid that we should be pressured by a bunch of liberals into calling women "ladies" instead of 'broads" and "gals", or that we should be pressured into turning off the Rush Limbaugh show when we hear the great one tell lies and slanderous lies. Anything, aven good things, can be taken to excess, as certainly political correctness and cancel culture often are. that does not alter the fact that they exist for a good reason; to fight back against incivility. Freedom os speech comes inherently with the freedom to not listen. conservatives, who are normally paranoid about being excluded from mainstream culture, which they perceive a dominated by liberalism, take umbrage at even the appearance of being ignored, corrected, or canceled. They prefer the rapt attention of captive audiences. I've been the victim, in my personal life, of cancel culture several times, by formerly close friends who became offended at something I said, often in a political context, in this era of ideological division. I admit, it no fun. Every time I think I'm being treated unfairly. People being rejected usually do. It amazes me that my presumed close friend didn't even make an attempt to work out the grievance, save the friendship. or allow me an opportunity to explain or defend my words and behavior. I still fell that way, about friends I lost several years ago. When I found out that one of my best friends made comments which  seemed racist to me, I told her so, and she chose to cut off all communication with me, rather than to hash it out. Well, then, so be it. As tehy say, don't let your the door hit your butt.Why would conservatives object to cancel culture? Is't' it merely another form of free market choice? Should we not all defend our freedom to stop listening and supporting whatever and whomever we choose?  Cancel culture can cut both ways. Governor Cuomo claims that he is even now being targeted by it, as pressure mounts for his resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Often, targets of cancel culture deserve canceling. Political correctness and cancel culture are ultimately progressive inventions, defenses against rudeness and meanness. Conservative resentment of them derives from their perceived right to be rude and mean whenever they choose, without suffering adverse consequences. Consequences, however,  adverse or favorable,accompany us wherever we go and whatever we do.