Cancel Culture Strikes British Psychology?
Sparked by one ex-member’s letter, the British Psychological Society has signalled its intention to not give ‘reach’ to ‘upsetting’ views
The most recent issue of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) flagship magazine, The Psychologist, was set to be a flagship moment in the Society’s handling of diversity issues. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and set in the backdrop of several other high-profile cases of police brutality and racially-charged protests, the issue was designed to provide “space for constructive, evidence-based, psychological conversation” (according to the editorial by Dr. Jon Sutton, the managing editor of the magazine).
As readers will see from the above images, the edition was actively designed to, on its face, provide “a forum for communication, discussion and controversy”. This has been a long-standing aim of the editor of this particular publication for more than 20 years. I have witnessed first hand how he has received criticism — much of it unwarranted — for appearing to be trying to appease social justice advocates and activists. I know this to…
