We haven’t seen much of Justine Bateman of late.
The “Family Ties” star worked consistently in the 1980s and 1990s, but in recent years she’s stayed mostly away from the spotlight. She turned to writing and directing, using her celebrity to battle A.I.’s deleterious effect on artists.
Agree or disagree, the 58-year-old is more thoughtful than your average star. She weighs in on tough issues without falling back on sound bites.
It turns out she’s been holding her tongue for the past four years. The election of Donald Trump let her speak freely once more.
Or, as she puts it, she no longer feels the need to “walk on eggshells.”
Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years.
— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024
I have found the last four years to be an almost intolerable period. A very un-American period in that any questioning, any opinions, any likes or dislikes were held up to a very limited list of “permitted positions” in order to assess acceptability.
The period in question stretches back beyond just four years, but her framing of the issue is … noteworthy. She’s neither Left or Right but suggests a second Trump term will cripple the “thought police.”
You won’t find words like “woke” or “cancel culture” in her essay, but everyone knows it’s her target. Most of her celebrity peers have stayed whisper-quiet on the subject both pre- and post-election.
Not Bateman.
Only “permitted position” behavior and speech was “allowed.” Complete intolerance became almost a religion and one’s professional and social life was threatened almost constantly. Those that spoke otherwise were ruined as a warning to others.
Yup. Cancel Culture. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better definition. It’s like she binge-watched MSNBC’s unhinged election coverage and had to fire back.
Those that tried to impose that control maintained a kind of “hall monitor” position by threatening others with damning labels like “Sexist,” “racist,” “homophobic,” etc, when the free-thinking and questioning was nothing of the sort. However, the mob mentality that followed caused these social convictions when there was often no evidence to support them.
The American voter, fed up with this way of thinking, voted for Trump in resounding numbers. Criticize the real estate mogul all day long. Just understand his brand of speech is both free and unfettered.
Americans missed that, apparently, according to the vote totals.
So did Bateman.
