That’s Not Censorship

For the past few years, the right has worn itself out decrying “cancel culture”—claiming that left-wing mobs have destroyed the career of artists, writers, and freethinkers—and equating it with censorship. Liberals have typically been the first to point out that this is absurd. If someone says or does something that offends your sensibilities, you are of course free to avoid supporting that person’s professional or creative endeavors with your time and money. That is not censorship—it’s merely a consequence.

But in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict, something has shifted. Compared with the tremendous suffering in the region, the opinions of American makers and consumers of art are a trivial concern. And yet the war has torn apart long-standing alliances in the arts and revealed ways of thinking that are, I believe, fundamentally dangerous to our democracy.

It began with the 92nd Street Y “incident.” The Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen—who has long endorsed a boycott of Israel—was scheduled to speak at the Jewish cultural institution about his new memoir. However, in the days prior to the event, Nguyen signed an open letter criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians that did not mention the October 7 attacks by Hamas. On the day of the event,