There is a real danger in giving up in a moment of serious reckoning. The criminal justice system has too often failed women, failed to address sexual violence and much more. Cancel culture takes matters into its own hands, offering the illusion of justice. But we are confusing the manner of arriving at justice -- the careful method of weighing evidence, the articulation of broad principles of agreement -- with the poor outcomes we are often left with. In the end, beyond arguments about methods and means is the crucial recognition that in a true democracy, things are often messy, that you often don't get what you want or deserve immediately, and that you have to constantly engage, protest, resist, and negotiate. In short, you have to be an astute and careful citizen, like both Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer.
-- Michael Eric Dyson, Long Time Coming, p. 152-153
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