Kerby Anderson

It should be obvious to just about anyone with a bit of common sense that the “cancel culture” has gone off the deep end. I have talked about J.K. Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter series, who has been attacked for saying things that are biologically true but contrary to the latest politically correct transgender ideology. Then there is the communications director of Boeing who was forced to resign because of an article he wrote a third of a century ago questioning the wisdom of placing women in combat roles.

The latest example of cancel culture is what has now been dubbed the “self-cancel culture.” Yes, you read that right. Now anyone offending the sensibilities of the woke crowd is expected to self-cancel. Here is one good example.

Alexandra Duncan had a novel coming out by Greenwillow, an imprint of HarperCollins. Parts of her book were written from the point of view of a black person from the Georgia and South Carolina Low Country. But there was a problem, the author is white. Some of her online acquaintances questioned the propriety of a white woman writing from the perspective of a black American. Therefore, she decided to cancel her book.

It gets even more involved. Ms. Duncan explained in a statement that as a white person, she might not be able to responsibly depict someone from this culture. The trade magazine, Publishers Weekly, posted an article about her self-cancellation on its website. But you cannot read it.

Publishers Weekly named the person whose critical queries caused Ms. Duncan to cancel her book. That person was then criticized for her comments on Twitter, which lead to Publishers Weekly killing the article about the book.

If you want to understand the cancel culture, here it is. The author cancels her book, the magazine reports the cancellation, and the trade magazine then cancels the article about self-cancellation. Welcome to the self-cancel culture.