We are joined by journalist and president of Harper’s, John R. “Rick” MacArthur, for a lively and sometimes contentious discussion about the First Amendment and “cancel culture.”
John R. MacArthur is the president of Harper’s, a journalist, and the author of several books, including Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War.
“There is this asymmetry between being very concerned about bad words, but not concerned about the discriminatory, vicious, horrific behavior on the ground.”
Ralph Nader
“The same people today who take umbrage, oftentimes legitimately, at ethnic, racial, and gender slurs were opposed to my Green candidacy. Not by rebutting it, which is certainly their right and privilege, but by demanding that I drop out of the presidential race. In other words, by saying ‘Do not use your freedom of speech, assembly, and petition.’ All three are part of any political candidacy.”
Ralph Nader
[On renaming sports teams in response to cultural criticism] “I think it’s foolish. It’s pointless.”
John R. MacArthur, president of Harper’s
“I’m talking about an atmosphere… of intolerance that’s developed, that is now verging on McCarthyite. I think it’s McCarthyite. And hysterical.”
John R. MacArthur, president of Harper’s
The First Amendment vs Cancel Culture