Cancel Culture and the Duty to Provoke

Being a moral leper,I expect to be cancelled by all sides but think about the broader picture. The following comes from The Guardian's ‘We know that anger’: the return of David Mamet’s incendiary Oleanna. Mamet's wrote this play about a professor accusedof sexualharassment about 30 yearasago and Bailey is the director of a London revival.

Does Bailey have her own views on the so-called cancel culture that overshadows debates on identity today? “I do have an opinion but like a lot of people I feel ill-equipped and a sense of not trusting my own awareness to be able to speak properly. That feels very strange – you feel you’re not able to take part in the debate through a fear of looking like you’re uneducated and insensitive to something – prejudiced without even being aware of it. Which is of course exactly what this play is about.”

Does she think we should talk about it anyway? “You have to keep talking. I like to feel that you can offend and be forgiven. And also that offence can provoke. I don’t mean I want to be offensive in any sense – but you can’t be afraid of that. This is what David Mamet is saying: he’s very provocative and if we get frightened of being provocative then the status quo will suddenly solidify and none of us want to be in a position where we are not able to question it.” 

Death is a status quo we cannot question. Is that good for the species?