Artists and Writers Warn of ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction is Swift

In a time of immense racial reckoning, a letter signed by 153 authors, artists, and journalists including notable names such as J.K. Rowling, Noam Chomsky, Margaret Atwood, and Wynton Marsalis emerged in Harper Magazine. The letter denounces ‘cancel culture’ and advocates for the “free exchange of information and ideas”, blaming “an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty” for creating an intolerant climate. This letter was met with significant backlash from notable journalists and social media users, with many pointing out the J.K. Rowling’s recent comments that were widely viewed as transphobic. Some criticized the letter as “self-important.” However, many signatories raised the issue of free speech and the threat to unemployment that ‘cancel culture’ has imposed. The letter is largely divisive and continues to be a point of debate regarding free speech issues and the diversity issues in America.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/arts/harpers-letter.html