[whimsicalism]

Half a century ago, in Japan, someone wrote a fictional story critical of the Emperor, and someone broke into the publishers house and murdered their housekeeper and severely injured their wife. [0]

In response to the murder, the writer was pretty much universally condemned and the a bill was introduced in the legislature to ban writings of that sort.

The fact that so many have convinced themselves that somehow we're in some new illiberal age is comical.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimanaka_incident

[lainga]

Well, peoples' expectations have changed in America since we declared independence from Japan.

[whimsicalism]

I erroneously thought the critic in the article was Japanese, although the "sir" should have been an obvious giveaway.

In the states, just off the top of my head: the McCarthy era, the reaction to the 1968 Olympic raised fist incident

[jimbokun]

> the McCarthy era, the reaction to the 1968 Olympic raised fist incident

Aren't those examples of the kinds of things we want to stop doing?

So you are agreeing Cancel Culture is bad and we should find better ways to peacefully disagree with each other?

[lainga]

I guessed as much :)

[slg]

I am curious what era of US history do you think was free of this stuff?

[dragonwriter]

For right-leaning, racist, sexist White male elites? Most of it.

Which is why that's where most of the whining that this is a new and dangerous phenomenon is coming from.

Heck, the government hyperfocus on rooting out Communism began almost immediately after the suggestion of turning the same apparatus against the KKK was rebuffed because of that organizations loyalty and patriotism.