I thought maybe like grumpy moms vs fun movies or something

If these intellectuals feel threatened by a dialogue concerning potential motivations behind their conclusions and opinions a la racism/transphobia/etc., how open to discourse are they really?

Good point. I agree it's a tricky issue and not at all easy to delineate what is just criticism and what is cancelling. But I think there is a point where the end result of cancellation, deplatforming, and even some forms of disruptive protest is that the "problematic" voice is removed rather than just new dissenting voices being added.

You can argue whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. There's definitely some argument to be made that a certain level of ideological conformity is preferable to pure free speech, but this is basically the central question at hand.

I truly doubt Chomsky & co are under the impression that cancel culture is state censorship. I was simply pointing out there it's a broader discussion beyond just what does the constitution prohibit.

Tucker Carlson versus teenagers on Twitter?

I believe the term for this is 'overton window'.

It isn't.

I suspect this all started to get born from the Aziz Ansari thing. I don't know that anyone thinks going after bigots is bad. But the cancellation of someone - at least on Twitter - seems to be more appealing that true justice. I don't know if this is what they mean, but the movement starts to drift, and so one day you're saying "Hey we need police reform, and there's a systemic problem in the criminal justice system" and the next you're posting a black square on Instgagram and mandating that Real Estate Agents stop calling it the "Master Bedroom."

Technically, I think you're right, the Overton Window seems to specifically refer to publicly acceptable policy prescriptions, but the basic idea is the same. The idea of a boundary of public discussion which, if exceeded, could result in negative social consequences, in this case, like being banned from a platform owned by a private company or fired by your employer.

Guy lays a truth bomb on DeSantis’ bull****.

Yes. I should be able to go into great detail in why I think my boss should suck my ding dong with out being fired.

Strawman. No one is saying that.