B.C. NDP MLA Selina Robinson committed a cardinal political sin.
The sin wasn’t her statement during an interview in January that before 1948, Israel was a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.” That statement may have been blunt and a little insensitive, but it was accurate. However, it inflamed the local cancel mob which was awaiting any excuse to ravage the career of outspoken Jews residing in elected positions within left-wing parties.
The statement was the beginning of the end of Robinson’s political career but not because of what she said. It’s because of how she responded to the mob.
Robinson’s real sin was to apologize. She tried to appease the unappeasable and her efforts failed, as such efforts with a frothing mob always will.
Had she stood her ground and refused to apologize to the fringe few infuriated with her candid comments, she still likely would have been removed from her cabinet position within the government and possibly the party itself. What Selina Robinson would have retained had she refused to apologize, though, would have been her pride and dignity. Now she has lost both along with her cabinet role.
Humanity has always had a destructive element within it that thrives upon tearing down others. Whether it was the stoning of alleged sinners by zealots, the burning of apparent witches, or the lynching of black people who ran afoul of the intolerant, we have a sad and well-established history of letting mobs form and abuse our fellow human beings. The mobs usually represent a vocal but vicious minority in society. While most people may be appalled by the behaviour of the mobs, they often won’t speak up for fear of becoming the next target.
Today’s mobs don’t carry pitchforks and torches. Instead, they use smartphones and spray paint. They don’t wear white hoods but rather hide behind masks and keffiyehs as they intimidate the police, politicians, and the public in general with aggressive protests, vandalism, and social media campaigns. They are no more forgiving or reasonable than the mobs during the Salem witch trials of 1692 and they are nearly as dangerous.
Social media has provided a new tool to the chronically aggrieved and personally weak souls who populate cancel mobs. Minority views can be easily and anonymously amplified by a small number of people who can create the impression of a groundswell of rage. Politicians and public figures sensitive to controversy empower these mobs as they shy away from them or capitulate to demands to try and avoid being targeted.
Apologies and appeasement never work, though. Apologizing to a cancel mob only puts blood in the water. The participants in these mobs are insecure and they see the capitulation of their victims as an affirmation of their moral stance. They feed on the fear of their victims and are never satisfied until the object of their ire is totally crushed.
All of this is because a Jewish politician dared to refer to a piece of sparsely developed desert as a piece of sparsely developed desert.
When a public figure refuses to capitulate to the mob, the mob will soon lose interest and back down. Cancel mobs are made up of weak, insecure people. They don’t know what to do when confronted by somebody who isn’t cowed by them and will quickly move on to find easier prey.
Dr. Jordan Peterson is a prime example. The woke mob despises him, but he won’t apologize or quit. His events remain packed and his books continue to sell. Comedian Dave Chappelle stood up to the mob and continues enjoying sold-out shows and releasing lucrative specials on Netflix. Joe Rogan has been targeted many times, yet his podcast audience remains massive and is growing.
Mobs are frightening, and it isn’t easy for somebody to stand firm when they find themselves in their crosshairs. The primal instinct of fight or flight kicks in when one is targeted. Fighting is tough, but fleeing never works.
The first step in defusing a cancel mob is to refuse to apologize. If you try to feed the mob, it will consume you.
Robinson learned this the hard way, or one can at least hope that she learned a lesson. Hopefully, her example will serve as a lesson for others as well.
Never apologize to the mob.
