NERAM director Rachael Parsons presented an authoritative and entertaining critique of cancel culture at the latest meeting of Skeptics in the Pub.
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![Skeptics in the Pub convenor Amelia Willmer and NERAM director Rachael Parsons at the latest meeting of the club, attended by more than 65 people. Skeptics in the Pub convenor Amelia Willmer and NERAM director Rachael Parsons at the latest meeting of the club, attended by more than 65 people.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HqKfNWeMNcUiyNaZWaJHFZ/fd58e29f-26c0-4622-991a-9d72e55c51a3.png/r0_0_1223_688_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
More than 65 people attended the talk on Tuesday, June 25 at the Railway Hotel.
Ms Parsons said cancel culture was the province of both the hard left and the hard right of politics where the loudest, angriest voices were amplified on social media, drowning out any reasonable debate and stifling public discourse.
Examples included the legal safari killing of South Africa's beloved Cecil the Lion, a scene from The Orville sci-fi series, the boycott and death threats to Harry Potter author J.K Rowling, and the endurance of Picasso's art despite his misogyny.
The next Skeptics In The Pub will be held at the Railway Hotel on Tuesday, July 23. The topic is Ruthless Truth And Tragic Magic.
Guest speaker, Armidale vocal instructor Inge Southcott, a former medical practitioner, will share her experience of what happens when a scientific discovery collides with magical thinking - when people shun the science because it doesn't fit with their long-held beliefs?