The opinion zone is now off-limits

January 2, 2024

opinion

Writer Anne Lamott fell all over herself a apologizing for an opinion tweet a few days ago.

She had the audacity to opine that she looked forward to a new year with less coverage of Taylor Swift.

OMG!!

The Swifties fell upon her like savages. Swift “justice”, you might say. Or no justice at all.

And ironic, because her point was obviously about the vast amount of tabloid coverage of Swift’s every move, something I’m sure the singer, herself, would like to see less of.

So, the internet. People simply can not scroll past opinions, giving the poster their ability to hold an opinion contrary to their own. They simply MUST excoriate, insult and cancel people for some of the most unimportant opinions you could think of. I mean innocuous.

Is an opinion about the amount of press Swift gets really a matter of such urgent importance that the person opining would need to be criticized and censured for it?

Did the critics even understand Lamott’s point? I don’t think so.

I’ve seen an increase on social media of people objecting to folks having an opinion on the most innocuous subjects (not politics).

It’s ridiculous.

Allow people to have their opinion, for God’s sake.

Unless they are drumpfers.

Then, feel free to fall upon them like savages.

16 comments on “The opinion zone is now off-limits
  1. DONNA TAGLIAFERRI says:

    Being cancelled is no small thing. And it is totally wrong. Scroll on should be our mantra. I saw this a million times during the pandemic.
    There were only a few Joe Rogans who survived. Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A survived. I write for a woman who has to scrutinize every word, nothing can be out of place. No opinions..how does one even formulate an opinion if they don’t share their own? How do you know if your opinion holds water if you don’t compare it to others?
    I don’t share many opinions any more. When I did it became a battlefield with me ending up feeling terrible.

    • Donna, dear, you are comparing apples & oranges—perhaps my point isn’t clear. It’s about jumping on someone for an innocuous opinion about an insignifiant thing. The examples you bring up are all right wing political organizations or people who want to deny human rights to people. Or can do them real harm.

      Politics is the place where I believe cancel culture is a good thing. Joe Rogan is an awful human being who has used the N word multiple times on his show, is a vax denier and preys on people’s fears. Conservatives who defend him on grouns of free speech are hypocritical, since they have mastered the art of legislative cancelation, passing laws that threaten to fine/fire teachers who teach about America’s brutal history of racial inequity in ways that might be uncomfortable for white students or parents.Hobby Lobby and ChickFilA would be thrilled if gay went away. Although ChickFilA supposedly stopped donating to anti LGBTQ groups 5 years ago. HL denies contraceptives to its employees Also claims of anti-Semitism, homophobia, and evangelizing in public schools

      These are very harmful people, harmful to the American way. Taylor Swift is a completely different category. And this illustrates the problem today in that people can not think critically to see this. Or any other nuance. And this isn’t even a nuance!

  2. Laura says:

    In my opinion…(lol!) well said! It’s fine to voice your opinion but it is not okay to attack someone when they do so. Disagreement and civilized discussion should be welcome. But savagery should not.

  3. Beth Havey says:

    I read the very long piece about Taylor Swift in TIME. It was interesting. My granddaughter is a huge fan, and she and my daughter loved one of Taylor’s concerts. And yes it is a good thing to have someone with talent and good will bringing young women and many others together. We need that. Our culture needs that. I don’t have to be a FAN to say, Bravo. Happy New Year, Beth

  4. Laurie Stone says:

    Strangely, I have grown to like Taylor Swift after seeing her concert on Netflix. She’s amazingly talented, but other than that, the fascination ends.

  5. I agree that it’s easy to be a slacktivist but more challenging to actually sacrifice time and other resources for building a better community. Imagine how much good would happen if keyboard warriors would pick up trash, volunteer at public libraries, visit people who have mobility problems, etc. I am also one of the people who could actually do more and say less. (I studied rhetoric, and do see the power in language, but I have been out of balance for decades: having an opinion more than taking action. Even small acts can have a meaningful effect.)

  6. I love Anne Lamontt. That’s my opinion.

  7. Alana says:

    I am not a Swiftie, mainly because pop music is not my preferred genre. But fans could do way worse than love Taylor Swift. I haven’t read the Time Magazine article yet (nor have I read the original Anne Lamott tweet). I do know she has a lot of music talent, has supported various charities and people in need, has donated to various GoFundMes, pays a lot of attention to her fans, and has encouraged fans to register to vote. Having said that, nothing justifies people attacking other people on X in that kind of manner. I wonder what would happen if Taylor Swift spoke out about the attacks on Anne Lamott. Would she be trashed by her own fans? Meanwhile, there is so much anger and fear in our country, overall, that we are in grave danger of democracy being cancelled. We could lose our right of free speech.

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