We have been witness to another barrage of hate by an American. Scott Adams was a very popular cartoonist. His cartoon (Dilbert) was carried in nearly every newspaper in this country, and was read and enjoyed by millions of people. But sadly, Mr. Adams was also a racist and purveyor of hate.
Recently, on a YouTube live stream, Adams called Black people a "hate group", and encouraged white people to "just get the hell away from them". The inherent racism in his remarks was obvious, and it caused a blowback against him.
Newspapers across the country dropped his cartoon strip, and the company that syndicated his cartoon (Andrews McMeel Syndication) also dropped him. In addition, his publisher has said they will no longer publish his book (which was to be released soon). These entities rightly did not want to align themselves with racism.
This has upset many right-wingers in this country. They want you to believe that this is a violation of the Constitution's First Amendment which guarantees the right of free speech.
The Constitution does guarantee free speech -- even hate speech (as long as it doesn't call for violence). That means the government cannot arrest or punish a person for what they say. It does not mean that there will be no consequences for that speech. Private individuals and private businesses have the right to oppose that speech, and businesses (like newspapers) have the right to cut ties with those promoting hate.
You will probably also hear from those right-wingers that this is just another example of "cancel culture". I won't argue with that. Shouldn't a society that prides itself on equality cancel all vestiges of hate -- whether it be racism or any other kind of hate (misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, etc.)?
Promoting hate toward people for something they have no control over (sex, color, sexual preference, age, race, etc.) is stupid. It not only hurts the people it's directed against. It also hurts our society and our country -- dividing into separate groups when we need to be unified.
Racism (and other forms of hate) have always been evil. It has been a scourge on our country. It is time to cancel the hate!
