During an interview this week on Fox News, former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI) claimed that the final expression of “cancel culture” is seen in ISIS and other Islamic terrorist groups.
“When you look at the foundation of our democracy, it is based on this ideal, this principle of freedom, freedom of speech, freedom for every single one of us to be able to share our ideas and debate them, to argue them, to agree or to disagree, to pick and choose in this marketplace of ideas, those that we deem to be right or wrong to be superior or inferior and even for those ideas that may be misleading or dangerous, that in this free marketplace, we have the right to then defeat those ideas with superior ones,” Gabbard began.
“Cancel culture is the opposite of this, it is exactly the opposite of this foundational principle of our democracy,” she continued. “It means that in a cancel culture, you have some people who believe that they are special, that they are superior, that they have the power to be able to shut down those who have ideas and views that are different, who may follow a path that they deem to be the wrong path and will therefore say, ‘No, we’re going to place obstacles in front of you, we’re going to silence certain voices, so that only those who agree with us and the path that we deem to be right as the one that is before you to choose.’”
“And the issue with this, there’s a few issues with it, the main issue with this is when you look at our rights and freedoms, and our ability to debate them, and respectfully come out the other end agreeing or disagreeing, as you and I have over the years, it’s based on the fact that we are all children of God. And recognizing that, we then treat each other with respect and respect this freedom that we have,” Gabbard continued. “So, let’s look down the path and say, ‘Okay, well, where does this cancel culture lead us?’ You see the final expression of cancel culture in Islamist terrorist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda who basically go and behead those who … they deem to be infidels or heretics in order to silence them in order to protect others from being misled by those heretical ideas and in the eyes of an ISIS or Al Qaeda.”
