What is “Call-Out Culture”? I’ll start by defining “culture” as norms, constructions of reality, and behaviors that are shared by a group of people. Members of a call-out culture would thus value, justify, and engage in call-out behavior. This behavior typically takes place in a public venue, such as social media. But to the crux of the matter: what does it mean to “call out”? In the strict dictionary sense, to call out means to verbally hold someone accountable for their words or actions, or to announce that one knows the other's lies or intentions (Urban Dictionary). But there’s a lot more to meaning than dictionary definitions. Consider:
Accountable: Someone who is accountable is completely responsible for what they do. Cambridge Dictionary
To hold someone responsible: to deem someone accountable for something. The Free Dictionary
To deem (origin): In the Middle Ages, "demen" was a fateful word. Closely related to "doom," this precursor of deem meant "to act as a judge" or "to sentence, condemn, or decree." Merriam-Webster Dictionary
So when one calls someone out, one is assuming the stance of a judge exacting harsh punishment on a criminal who has no excuses for their misdeeds.
The Inspiration for this post was reading Neale Mahoney’s Don’t fall for the false trade-offs of COVID-19 policy: Policy makers don’t have to choose between public health and economic well-being. An excerpt: :
“Over the coming weeks, we will see many policy arguments, and often they will be couched in the language of economic trade-offs. While there are real economic trade-offs, and economists should participate in debates about them, we should also be on the lookout for politicians dressing up bad ideas in such language—and call them out when they do.”
Call them out for what? Given the above quote is from a section titled “A Disingenuous Debate”, I’m going to guess it’s for being disingenuous, which means to give a false appearance of simple frankness out of cunning and deceit. Disingenuous people hide their “true” motivation behind a reasonable or genuine exterior. So what are politicians who talk of trade-offs trying to hide? Apparently, that they are really doing the bidding of corporations, or as Mahoney put it: “providing a fig leaf for corporate cronyism”. How is he so sure of their true motivation? Because there is no reasonable argument “whereby the economic benefits of lifting [shelter-in-place] measures now can be rationalized relative to the harm experienced in future months from the increased spread of the disease.” Unfortunately, Mahoney simply asserts this as the case without providing detailed arguments or evidence.
Ok, now for my list of reasons why I detest the practice of calling out:
Arrogant: characterized by a sense of superiority, self-importance, or entitlement. Calling out assumes one possesses the unvarnished truth about another person’s character and is entitled to make that truth public knowledge.
Cruel: to call out is to publicly disparage another person’s moral essence and to invite others to shun that person. Calling out knowingly hurts or harms other people.
Mindreading: assuming one knows someone else’s thoughts, feelings and motivations – that is, the “real” reasons for what they say, think and do. Example: “It All Comes Down to Race: Your opinions on health care reform, taxes, and even the president’s dog …”
Intolerant of Difference: people are often called out for their political beliefs or opinions. But a person can be wrong about something and still have a point that’s worth exploring. The only way to find out is to hear their case - or at least not preempt other people’s ability to do so.
Essentializes: reduces a person to some fundamental and invariable quality or behavioral tendency. Example: "Public figure ‘X’ is a sexual predator"
Leaves No Room for Doubt: As the Greek philosopher Hippo said, “Doubt is the origin of wisdom”. Calling out comes from a place of certainty (the righteous judge), which undermines learning, discovery, critical thinking and scientific inquiry.
Chilling Effect on Free Speech: Calling out people intimidates would-be dissenters. A dissenter doesn’t have to be right to stimulate thought or worthwhile discussion
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And now some of my favorite quotes on free speech:
“Everything we know about the world — the age of our civilization, species, planet, and universe; the stuff we’re made of; the laws that govern matter and energy; the workings of the body and brain — came as insults to the sacred dogma of the day. We now know that the beloved convictions of every time and culture may be decisively falsified, doubtless including some we hold today.” - Steven Pinker, Why free speech is fundamental
“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that…Nor is it enough that he should hear the arguments of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. That is not the way to do justice to the arguments, or bring them into real contact with his own mind. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them; who defend them in earnest, and do their very utmost for them. He must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form…” John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
“The problem with free speech is that it’s hard, and self-censorship is the path of least resistance. But once you learn to keep yourself from voicing unwelcome thoughts, you forget how to think them – how to think freely at all – and ideas perish at conception.” George Packer, Mute Button