In an old Twilight Zone episode, I found a rather prophetic description of a man that so resembles the happenings of today that I thought it worthy of mentioning. Maybe you will see the similarity as well. It is a glaring picture of the current situation in society today and may be a warning to those that have happily followed the example of the cancel culture fringe.
It is from the 1962 episode titled “It’s Four O’clock”. I have adapted the plot listed on Wikipedia slightly but not enough to change anything really.
Oliver Crangle is a dealer in petulance and poison. He is a twisted fanatic, poisoned by the gangrene of prejudice, to the status of an avenging angel, upright and omniscient, dedicated, and fearsome.
He is a hate-ridden fanatic who lives in an apartment with his parrot. He maintains records of people he believes to be “evil” and has convinced himself that the so called “evil” people (communists, subversives, thieves, and murderers) are engaged in a worldwide conspiracy and have taken over Washington.
Change the list from that episode of evil, communists, subversives, thieves, and murderers to right wing, nationalists, republicans, and those that are generally conservative.
He makes phone calls to them and their employers at all hours, writes letters regarding their actions, demands their prompt firing, and threatens to involve higher authorities if they do not comply.
Sound familiar?
Unsatisfied with the results of his anonymous calls and letters, he searches for a more effective way to eliminate evil from the world; he settles on the idea of shrinking all evil people to two feet tall.
Or maybe simply stifling their voices by cancelling them on social media, the press, and through political actions that he alone knows are best.
Crangle calls a number of government agencies, and Agent Hall of the FBI is sent to investigate. Crangle tells him of his plan to shrink every evil person at 4:00 that afternoon through sheer force of will, mentioning his belief about a global conspiracy involving the evil people of the world. He also mentions that he has tried such feats before (trying to turn wheels into triangle shapes due to believing that evil uses public transportation to move).
Like trying to destroy the fossil fuel industry because only climate hating conservatives would not see the wisdom of getting rid of oil, gas, and coal.
He believes that by shrinking all evil people to two feet tall, that they will be unable to carry on their everyday lives and eventually become extinct.
Agent Hall says that both support and help in upholding the law are appreciated, but what Crangle is doing is instead interference. Crangle accuses him of being in on the conspiracy.
When authorities refuse to bend to cancel culture’s ideas they are attacked and accused of being the problem. They are subject to defunding and those agencies or government administrations that are infested with those that have become afraid to stand up to the Crangles of the world, and take it out on those who were only trying to do their jobs.
When 4 o’clock rolls around, Crangle is horrified to find that he himself has been shrunk to two feet tall. He struggles in vain to get up to his windowsill.
Yes, Oliver Crangle is a metaphor for today’s cancel culture. They alone know best. They alone are higher morally than everyone else. And when members of their own like-minded group question the wisdom of their actions, they too become targets of their rage.
Like Crangle, the cancel culture may very well be surprised when their 4 o’clocks come around. They are liable to find themselves fighting against a quite different group of adversaries. They very well may find their ultra-moral, higher purpose and uncompromising tactics and ideas fall on deaf ears. They may find their allies in powerful positions are now running for cover and trying to hold onto their positions. And they do this by turning against the cancel culture they were part of.
Yes 4 o’clock is coming but remember there are really two 4 o’clocks. The first one is November 8th 2022, and the second is November 5th 2024. I wonder if the progressive cancel culture warriors will be able to even see above the pile of crap they have created, it is assuredly over two feet tall.
Post Views: 30
When Social Giants Lose Their Height
In an old Twilight Zone episode, I found a rather prophetic description of a man that so resembles the happenings of today that I thought it worthy of mentioning. Maybe you will see the similarity as well. It is a glaring picture of the current situation in society today and may be a warning to those that have happily followed the example of the cancel culture fringe.
It is from the 1962 episode titled “It’s Four O’clock”. I have adapted the plot listed on Wikipedia slightly but not enough to change anything really.
Oliver Crangle is a dealer in petulance and poison. He is a twisted fanatic, poisoned by the gangrene of prejudice, to the status of an avenging angel, upright and omniscient, dedicated, and fearsome.
He is a hate-ridden fanatic who lives in an apartment with his parrot. He maintains records of people he believes to be “evil” and has convinced himself that the so called “evil” people (communists, subversives, thieves, and murderers) are engaged in a worldwide conspiracy and have taken over Washington.
Change the list from that episode of evil, communists, subversives, thieves, and murderers to right wing, nationalists, republicans, and those that are generally conservative.
He makes phone calls to them and their employers at all hours, writes letters regarding their actions, demands their prompt firing, and threatens to involve higher authorities if they do not comply.
Sound familiar?
Unsatisfied with the results of his anonymous calls and letters, he searches for a more effective way to eliminate evil from the world; he settles on the idea of shrinking all evil people to two feet tall.
Or maybe simply stifling their voices by cancelling them on social media, the press, and through political actions that he alone knows are best.
Crangle calls a number of government agencies, and Agent Hall of the FBI is sent to investigate. Crangle tells him of his plan to shrink every evil person at 4:00 that afternoon through sheer force of will, mentioning his belief about a global conspiracy involving the evil people of the world. He also mentions that he has tried such feats before (trying to turn wheels into triangle shapes due to believing that evil uses public transportation to move).
Like trying to destroy the fossil fuel industry because only climate hating conservatives would not see the wisdom of getting rid of oil, gas, and coal.
He believes that by shrinking all evil people to two feet tall, that they will be unable to carry on their everyday lives and eventually become extinct.
Agent Hall says that both support and help in upholding the law are appreciated, but what Crangle is doing is instead interference. Crangle accuses him of being in on the conspiracy.
When authorities refuse to bend to cancel culture’s ideas they are attacked and accused of being the problem. They are subject to defunding and those agencies or government administrations that are infested with those that have become afraid to stand up to the Crangles of the world, and take it out on those who were only trying to do their jobs.
When 4 o’clock rolls around, Crangle is horrified to find that he himself has been shrunk to two feet tall. He struggles in vain to get up to his windowsill.
Yes, Oliver Crangle is a metaphor for today’s cancel culture. They alone know best. They alone are higher morally than everyone else. And when members of their own like-minded group question the wisdom of their actions, they too become targets of their rage.
Like Crangle, the cancel culture may very well be surprised when their 4 o’clocks come around. They are liable to find themselves fighting against a quite different group of adversaries. They very well may find their ultra-moral, higher purpose and uncompromising tactics and ideas fall on deaf ears. They may find their allies in powerful positions are now running for cover and trying to hold onto their positions. And they do this by turning against the cancel culture they were part of.
Yes 4 o’clock is coming but remember there are really two 4 o’clocks. The first one is November 8th 2022, and the second is November 5th 2024. I wonder if the progressive cancel culture warriors will be able to even see above the pile of crap they have created, it is assuredly over two feet tall.
Phil Swain