Perhaps the most worrying trend in Cancel Culture is the stifling effect it is having upon comedy- changing what should be a innately transgressive art form, which skirts the boundaries between offence, transgression and what is funny. This essay was originally a comment in response to an article on Quillette entitled Life as a Stand-Up Comic Can Be Brutal. ‘Safe Space’ Call-out Culture Is Making it Unbearable.
(Poster from the Chris McGlade’s Forgiveness Tour)
A fascinating article. Much of what it states holds true of the social media landscape in general- the cancellers are often relatively obscure nobodies with no talent or ability, who gain notoriety by acting in bad faith and destroying the lives of others.
I particularly liked this paragraph:
“All in all, even most outwardly successful full-time comedians still make an annual income that sits significantly below the poverty line. As such, the performers that the industry tends to retain are middle-to-upper class young people with financial support from their family (topped up, in some cases, by government benefits such as unemployment insurance and disability), a white-collar day job that lets them put food on the table, no dependants, and a schedule that permits them to dedicate their evenings to what is effectively a life of endless unpaid auditions. Unsurprisingly, the field has a massive attrition rate; with working-class people having an especially hard time.”
It points to a larger problem within our cultures of the West, which is often overlooked in the quest for diversity across every dimension, other than class or viewpoint diversity. If you’ve ever read Peter Turchin’s essay on elite overproduction, then you will know that for some time the West has been overproducing graduates in every field other than a few in which we desperately need them: scientific research, computing, engineering and a few others.
This, combined with the commodification of higher education, has led to the mass displacement of people from working or blue collar backgrounds from major cultural institutions like journalism, or the Arts. Veteran journalist Mike Graham has noted this in his Independent Republic of Mike Graham podcasts for talkRADIO TV. When he was younger, high school leavers with a talent for writing were routinely snapped up by local newspapers and the like, with a view to giving them what effectively amounted to a trade apprenticeship. Such coveted positions have all but disappeared apart from for the view publications which Wikipedia now categorically refuses to have cited on its increasingly Leftist pages.
One unfortunate side-effect of this upper middle class displacement of more deserving and talented individuals from humbler backgrounds, is that it inevitably leads to the sneering imposition of middle class sensibilities upon those further down the socio-economic spectrum, especially in relation to the largely false narratives perpetrated over issues like Brexit or Trump- which were both symptoms of a broader disaffection with the negative side effects caused by cosmopolitan liberal (or economically neoliberal) public policies- an ugly manifestation of class grievances punching down.
Perhaps the most chilling recent development from the UK comedy circuit, has to be the case of Chris McGlade. A working-class comic and poet who won critical acclaim shortly before the onset of the pandemic. He was recently cancelled from his Soho gig over his failure to adhere to politically correct language. Here is an example of his work:
He seems like a genuine, ordinary person who has been caught up in the ideological storm of our recent times. Yet another casualty of a Culture War which many would claim does not exist, or which has been hyped out of all proportion by the political Right. To those who criticise the Culture War as a distraction from more serious issues, I completely agree. Whilst racism and other forms of prejudice are still serious issues, stop pretending that anything other than a small percentage of individuals who voted for Trump or Brexit were racist.
Let’s not pretend that any of this is anything to do with anything other than those lucky enough to be in the top 10% of society by income, espousing supposedly Left-leaning and inclusive values, whilst simultaneously hoarding all of societies opportunities for their only slightly brighter than average ungrateful brats.
Not to be outdone by human hubris or vanity, it appears that Fate, or the Divine, has a sense of humour as well. I find it a source of gallows humour that a man who once found the grace to forgive the man who set alight and murdered his father, now find himself the victim of a small crowd of unforgiving PC authoritarian bigots, undoubtedly from far more privileged backgrounds than a working-class comic and poet made-good.
For the audience, the Comedy that is left is a hollowed out shell of its former glory. Here’s a hint- if there is a pause between a stand-ups joke and the audience laughing (whilst their furious little brains work out whether it is OK to laugh at the specific punch-line), then the experience has already been ruined and it wasn’t worth anyone showing up.
Thanks for sharing this well written article Mister.
A few weeks ago I watched the four minute video where Chris McGlade spoke word perfectly throughout. It was prophetic stuff. A working class prophet no less. Noticeably it took a writer from Norfolk in East Anglia; the South East of England to inform me that Mr. McGlade does in fact come from and reside in Middlesbrough, a working class impoverished town only 5.5 miles away from my own home. Yet, I’d ignorantly never absorbed his name before. I mentioned this to a friend in Middlesbrough who informed me that everybody knows who he is and that he himself had mentioned him to me.
I made a mental note to follow this guy at the time and I’ve checked out getting some tickets to his show. Had I known of him earlier I’d of caught a show in Billingham which is only a stones throw away. So why hadn’t I heard of him before? More importantly it seems I probably had and dismissed my working class friends appraisal with typical middle class hierarchy. But we do this don’t we? We seek our advice, guidance and attainment values from those deemed fit to serve us best and we dismiss, ignore and underscore the utility of those seen to be below our class, be that monetary class or what I’d consider real class; that of eloquence and sophistication. I realised in just this that I too was guilty of privileged ignorance, that I’d become somewhat disconnected to those of a lower societal rank. In doing so I am also guilty of falsely flattering my own eloquence. A sobering thought.
I festered and pondered over this realisation and what I did the following Monday morning was to take my two employed labourers to one side and with specific instruction to tell nobody else, raised their pay ten pounds a day. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but it sure was for them. In fact I retain an element of capitalist entitlement in the fact they remain worthy of further pay hikes. It was the effect that came over them that was so remarkable. I really must have lost some capacity to gauge the plight of others, these two guys were overjoyed; like a pair of kids unwrapping a fantastic Christmas gift. They kept eyeing me surreptitiously for the rest of that day. In truth it probably improved my day more than theirs. I made a mental note to request their input in front of the others. I truly like myself better for this decision and it doesn’t hurt one little bit.
So what had I learned from four minutes of Chris McGlade? Well that what he’d spoken about was class struggle from his lived experience. That many many millions share his voice and truly aren’t being listened to. But why? So I thought about my own pier group, status, hierarchy and the restraints imposed on limitations. I looked at the issues that cheese me off.
The injustice of progressivism, the ruination of conservatism, woke indoctrination and how my voice isn’t heard, even if I can afford fancy cars, nice clothes, fancy restaurants and exotic holidays. Why when I hear upper-middle class privileged tv reporters, singers, actors, politicians, journalists sprouting off about injustice that I want to puke. Yet my argument is the same as the disenfranchised poor labourer who I have more in common with than those we aspire the lifestyles of.
Without the correct upbringing and value system placed upon me from my family I would too very much lack the skills that created my own upward mobility. Make me penniless tomorrow and I’d simply dig myself back up and out; simply because I know how to, like many of my own pier group. So why can’t Chris McGlade be catapulted to superstardom? He’s a talented actor and comedian. Is it that he represents the the voice of the unwashed deplorables…Is that why he’s only worthy of being cancelled?
Great piece of writing, mate. His poetry is certainly worth an appearance in any anthology of modern poets, by the way. Granted, he is not a W. H. Auden- but so few are in that particular league. Still, he is at least as good as most of the modern poets the literati fawn and gush over.
“Let’s not pretend that any of this is anything to do with anything other than those lucky enough to be in the top 10% of society by income, espousing supposedly Left-leaning and inclusive values, whilst simultaneously hoarding all of societies opportunities for their only slightly brighter than average ungrateful brats.”
"for some time the West has been overproducing graduates in every field other than a few in which we desperately need them: scientific research, computing, engineering and a few others."
This is the natural result when the pricing mechanism is ignored due to central planning. Few would sensibly pay $100 to spend time and effort to learn and then work and gain $90. But when everyone is told to go to school, to not worry about the costs, to borrow without understanding repayment plus interest measured against likely incomes, to beg parents to borrow in the later lives, and then many to never even graduate, such a problem is sure to be the result. One size does not fit all. Not all are geared toward academic life. Education at any price isn't good. Too much money with too many students only leads to higher prices and causes universities to compete for those dollars (that the students don't actually have!) and upgrade lifestyles without regard to upgrading educational value.
Here in the UK we have a graduate contribution scheme- which means you have to pass a certain threshold of earnings before you begin to repay your loan. One way I thought of reforming the system, would be if other countries adopted this system, but then we all used some relatively simple actuarial tables of expected earnings to create variable thresholds by degree course.
If a prospective student saw that a degree in Engineering had a repayment threshold of £20K, whilst a Dance and Theatre Appreciation degree had a threshold of £9K, they would be more motivated to pick Engineering. Over time block grants could be shifted to favour those universities which delivered courses which lead to productive careers, as well as towards those that conduct useful research.
We have over credentialed everything. It isn’t enough to learn a skill or trade and practice it with excellence; you must have a credential stamped by a taker for a price. I hesitate to call what we are doing education; it clearly isn’t.
In the UK, one needs GCSE Maths grade C to become a chef, which usually requires a functional knowledge of trigonometry and quadratic equations. Basic maths is necessary for chefs, but the ability to calculate roofing angles or gable ends is not required. A simple Maths test of fractions, division and multiplication would suffice.
In the US, some States require a written exam to earn the certificate to shoe horses- which acts as a barrier to those who didn't do well at school. One other thing I've noticed about the degree educated- many are good at analytical thinking, but they are bloody useless at the Operational.
If forced to work in real-time, without the benefit of good data, it seems to send many into Operational paralysis. They don't want to make a decision unless they have good data to justify their decision to a boss at a later date. It's not everyone- I can do both- but it takes the understanding that the perfect is often the enemy of the good.
Oh my....that is indeed over-credentialing. I guess I didn't think about those required by government initially as the US does have all sorts of crazy credentials required for those in regulated industries (including hair stylists/barbers).
I wonder how true over-credentialing is. I mean, there was a time when it seemed every google engineer had a PhD, but over time, as they grew and other competing interests grew, it seems that they are less concerned about university credentials than proven skills, proven accomplishments, proven patent apps, proven business models, etc., relying more on tough interviews and perhaps more on skills credentials than on university ones. But I've been out of that job market for a long time, so I know I'm a dinosaur.
Besides, I am an entrepreneur, eating what I kill so to speak. This used to be a norm, especially back when free markets were even considered a good idea. Now everyone ones to be an employee, a wage slave, and then grumble about their employers being stupid, evil, greedy, etc. Of course, far too many businesses do rely on crony capitalism, regulatory nonsense they fought while small and then embrace when big, forgetting to remain human and ethical and kind, etc.
A lot of the problem your talking about vis-a-vis regulations stems from using a legal, rather than ethical framework, to design regulations. It also makes them overly burdensome. The problem with legalese or check-box regulations, is that it creates the illusion for corporations that just because they are sticking to the letter of the regulatory code, they are doing nothing wrong. Broad discretionary powers, a lack of opportunity for political advancement and an ethical, rather than legal, framework- all designed to be lightweight and avoid bureaucracy are all features of the better type of regulator.
One of my favourite Niall Ferguson quotes is "regulation is the disease of which it pretends to be the cure".
Just so darned glad to hear I'm not the only one with these concerns - thanks to all and to you Geary. I don't have the knack to put my thoughts into words - you do. Again, thanks so much. I'm beyond words.
Thanks for your kind words. It's not so much that I disagree with the purported intentions of the social justice mob, it's more that any system which so frequently hurts people in its pursuit of justice, must surely be inherently unjust.
Thanks for sharing this well written article Mister.
A few weeks ago I watched the four minute video where Chris McGlade spoke word perfectly throughout. It was prophetic stuff. A working class prophet no less. Noticeably it took a writer from Norfolk in East Anglia; the South East of England to inform me that Mr. McGlade does in fact come from and reside in Middlesbrough, a working class impoverished town only 5.5 miles away from my own home. Yet, I’d ignorantly never absorbed his name before. I mentioned this to a friend in Middlesbrough who informed me that everybody knows who he is and that he himself had mentioned him to me.
I made a mental note to follow this guy at the time and I’ve checked out getting some tickets to his show. Had I known of him earlier I’d of caught a show in Billingham which is only a stones throw away. So why hadn’t I heard of him before? More importantly it seems I probably had and dismissed my working class friends appraisal with typical middle class hierarchy. But we do this don’t we? We seek our advice, guidance and attainment values from those deemed fit to serve us best and we dismiss, ignore and underscore the utility of those seen to be below our class, be that monetary class or what I’d consider real class; that of eloquence and sophistication. I realised in just this that I too was guilty of privileged ignorance, that I’d become somewhat disconnected to those of a lower societal rank. In doing so I am also guilty of falsely flattering my own eloquence. A sobering thought.
I festered and pondered over this realisation and what I did the following Monday morning was to take my two employed labourers to one side and with specific instruction to tell nobody else, raised their pay ten pounds a day. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but it sure was for them. In fact I retain an element of capitalist entitlement in the fact they remain worthy of further pay hikes. It was the effect that came over them that was so remarkable. I really must have lost some capacity to gauge the plight of others, these two guys were overjoyed; like a pair of kids unwrapping a fantastic Christmas gift. They kept eyeing me surreptitiously for the rest of that day. In truth it probably improved my day more than theirs. I made a mental note to request their input in front of the others. I truly like myself better for this decision and it doesn’t hurt one little bit.
So what had I learned from four minutes of Chris McGlade? Well that what he’d spoken about was class struggle from his lived experience. That many many millions share his voice and truly aren’t being listened to. But why? So I thought about my own pier group, status, hierarchy and the restraints imposed on limitations. I looked at the issues that cheese me off.
The injustice of progressivism, the ruination of conservatism, woke indoctrination and how my voice isn’t heard, even if I can afford fancy cars, nice clothes, fancy restaurants and exotic holidays. Why when I hear upper-middle class privileged tv reporters, singers, actors, politicians, journalists sprouting off about injustice that I want to puke. Yet my argument is the same as the disenfranchised poor labourer who I have more in common with than those we aspire the lifestyles of.
Without the correct upbringing and value system placed upon me from my family I would too very much lack the skills that created my own upward mobility. Make me penniless tomorrow and I’d simply dig myself back up and out; simply because I know how to, like many of my own pier group. So why can’t Chris McGlade be catapulted to superstardom? He’s a talented actor and comedian. Is it that he represents the the voice of the unwashed deplorables…Is that why he’s only worthy of being cancelled?
Great piece of writing, mate. His poetry is certainly worth an appearance in any anthology of modern poets, by the way. Granted, he is not a W. H. Auden- but so few are in that particular league. Still, he is at least as good as most of the modern poets the literati fawn and gush over.
Thanks mate. It’s easy to be a bouncing ball. Credits all on you.
“Let’s not pretend that any of this is anything to do with anything other than those lucky enough to be in the top 10% of society by income, espousing supposedly Left-leaning and inclusive values, whilst simultaneously hoarding all of societies opportunities for their only slightly brighter than average ungrateful brats.”
That.
"for some time the West has been overproducing graduates in every field other than a few in which we desperately need them: scientific research, computing, engineering and a few others."
This is the natural result when the pricing mechanism is ignored due to central planning. Few would sensibly pay $100 to spend time and effort to learn and then work and gain $90. But when everyone is told to go to school, to not worry about the costs, to borrow without understanding repayment plus interest measured against likely incomes, to beg parents to borrow in the later lives, and then many to never even graduate, such a problem is sure to be the result. One size does not fit all. Not all are geared toward academic life. Education at any price isn't good. Too much money with too many students only leads to higher prices and causes universities to compete for those dollars (that the students don't actually have!) and upgrade lifestyles without regard to upgrading educational value.
Here in the UK we have a graduate contribution scheme- which means you have to pass a certain threshold of earnings before you begin to repay your loan. One way I thought of reforming the system, would be if other countries adopted this system, but then we all used some relatively simple actuarial tables of expected earnings to create variable thresholds by degree course.
If a prospective student saw that a degree in Engineering had a repayment threshold of £20K, whilst a Dance and Theatre Appreciation degree had a threshold of £9K, they would be more motivated to pick Engineering. Over time block grants could be shifted to favour those universities which delivered courses which lead to productive careers, as well as towards those that conduct useful research.
We have over credentialed everything. It isn’t enough to learn a skill or trade and practice it with excellence; you must have a credential stamped by a taker for a price. I hesitate to call what we are doing education; it clearly isn’t.
In the UK, one needs GCSE Maths grade C to become a chef, which usually requires a functional knowledge of trigonometry and quadratic equations. Basic maths is necessary for chefs, but the ability to calculate roofing angles or gable ends is not required. A simple Maths test of fractions, division and multiplication would suffice.
In the US, some States require a written exam to earn the certificate to shoe horses- which acts as a barrier to those who didn't do well at school. One other thing I've noticed about the degree educated- many are good at analytical thinking, but they are bloody useless at the Operational.
If forced to work in real-time, without the benefit of good data, it seems to send many into Operational paralysis. They don't want to make a decision unless they have good data to justify their decision to a boss at a later date. It's not everyone- I can do both- but it takes the understanding that the perfect is often the enemy of the good.
Oh my....that is indeed over-credentialing. I guess I didn't think about those required by government initially as the US does have all sorts of crazy credentials required for those in regulated industries (including hair stylists/barbers).
I wonder how true over-credentialing is. I mean, there was a time when it seemed every google engineer had a PhD, but over time, as they grew and other competing interests grew, it seems that they are less concerned about university credentials than proven skills, proven accomplishments, proven patent apps, proven business models, etc., relying more on tough interviews and perhaps more on skills credentials than on university ones. But I've been out of that job market for a long time, so I know I'm a dinosaur.
Besides, I am an entrepreneur, eating what I kill so to speak. This used to be a norm, especially back when free markets were even considered a good idea. Now everyone ones to be an employee, a wage slave, and then grumble about their employers being stupid, evil, greedy, etc. Of course, far too many businesses do rely on crony capitalism, regulatory nonsense they fought while small and then embrace when big, forgetting to remain human and ethical and kind, etc.
A lot of the problem your talking about vis-a-vis regulations stems from using a legal, rather than ethical framework, to design regulations. It also makes them overly burdensome. The problem with legalese or check-box regulations, is that it creates the illusion for corporations that just because they are sticking to the letter of the regulatory code, they are doing nothing wrong. Broad discretionary powers, a lack of opportunity for political advancement and an ethical, rather than legal, framework- all designed to be lightweight and avoid bureaucracy are all features of the better type of regulator.
One of my favourite Niall Ferguson quotes is "regulation is the disease of which it pretends to be the cure".
Just so darned glad to hear I'm not the only one with these concerns - thanks to all and to you Geary. I don't have the knack to put my thoughts into words - you do. Again, thanks so much. I'm beyond words.
Thanks for your kind words. It's not so much that I disagree with the purported intentions of the social justice mob, it's more that any system which so frequently hurts people in its pursuit of justice, must surely be inherently unjust.