Varney: ‘Cancel culture’ grows across US
‘Censorship appears to be alive and well’
FOX Business’ Stuart Varney, in his latest “My Take,” argues the “cancel culture” is a threat to free speech.
“It’s called the 'cancel culture,’” Varney said. “Get rid of anything that is deemed by some to be offensive. A movie, a TV show, a statue, a painting, an opinion! Ban it! Remove it from your screens. Take it out of the debate.”
Following the killing of George Floyd, there has been an “avalanche of cancellations,” Varney said.
HBO MAX PULLS ‘GONE WITH THE WIND,’ WHILE ‘COPS’ GETS CANCELED
Protesters put up a banner near the Confederate monument at the Courthouse-on-the-Square, June 3, 2020, in Denton, Texas. Demonstrations have taken place across the United States in protest of police brutality, sparked by the May 25 death of George F
“It’s reached the point where police officers may not be shown doing anything good,” he said. “Any police action must be seen as bad.”
Varney pointed to TV shows and toy companies who have been impacted by this.
“Lego will no longer advertise its Lego City Police Station. The TV show, ‘Cops,’ canceled after 32 seasons,” Varney said. “Then there is ‘Paw Patrol,’ an animated TV show featuring ‘Chase,’ a cartoon German shepherd who helps people, you know, does good things. But that's bad: we must not be allowed to see anything good involving the police. ‘Paw Patrol’ is for very young children. They can still watch. But social media is full of demands to take ‘Chase’ off the air.
Varney believes demands like these are dangerous and a “threat” to free speech.
“There's no real debate, no real free speech, if even mild pro-police opinions or shows are censured,” he said.
VARNEY: AMERICAN UNITY REPLACED BY A NATION ON EDGE
Protesters rally, June 3, 2020, in Phoenix, demanding the Phoenix City Council defund the Phoenix Police Department. The protest is a result of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on M
Varney also pointed to how this movement is affecting the media.
“The editorial director of The New York Times had to resign because he had allowed the publication of Sen. Tom Cotton's call to use the military if urban unrest gets out of control,” he said. “That opinion was deemed offensive. It can no longer be part of the debate! The Philadelphia Inquirer published an opinion piece titled ‘Buildings Matter Too.’ That was considered offensive: the editor lost his job. Censorship appears to be alive and well. What a shame, because problems don't get solved if there's no free speech.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Varney noted President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 speech titled “Four Freedoms.”
“The first he said, was ‘freedom of speech and expression, everywhere in the world,’” Varney said. “He said that nearly 80 years ago, and he's still right!”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE