Yesterday, The Fits of Salem described how today’s mobs echo the convulsions of 1692; today, this article discusses how the spell can be broken — and how real communication can begin again.
The lesson of Salem is not just how hysteria begins — it’s how it ends. The fits stopped when ordinary people stopped treating the shrieks as sacred. Cancel culture is nothing more than Salem with Wi-Fi, and it will end the same way as Salem.
Cancel culture was supposed to be the new social guillotine. One wrong word, one unapproved opinion, and heads would roll — jobs lost, friendships ended, marriages wrecked. For a while, it worked. The fear of public shaming kept millions quiet. But the guillotine blade is dull now, and the mobs don’t draw as much blood as they used to.
That doesn’t mean cancel culture is over or harmless. It still ruins reputations and inflicts major headaches. But it’s not unstoppable.
Breaking the spell isn’t enough. Salem’s lesson isn’t only that hysteria can be stopped — it’s that the silence afterward must be filled with truth. Otherwise, the fear returns in another form.
So once we’ve stopped the fits, how do we start genuine communication again?
Breaking the Spell
1. Recognize the Ritual
The “spell” is not magic. It’s performance. In Salem, it was convulsions; today, it’s hashtags, mobs, and cancel campaigns. These rituals exist to frighten the community into compliance. The first step is seeing through the theater.
2. Strip Away the Sacredness
Hysteria feeds on reverence. If the mob’s shrieks are treated as holy — “listen and believe” — they hold power. Mock them. Dismiss them. Start asking real questions. When ordinary people laugh, question, or simply refuse to play along, the spell unravels.
3. Refuse Isolation
The spell only works if the target is cut off. Solidarity — friends standing up and saying “we will not abandon you” — is the antidote. This was true in 1692 (though some still died – there are always casualties), and it’s true today.
Starting the Conversation
Breaking the spell clears the stage. But what fills the silence matters just as much. Here’s how to move forward into real communication:
1. Practice Stillness
Most people don’t listen; they reload. They wait for their turn to pounce with the next zinger. Stillness — the discipline of hearing without rushing to answer — creates space where truth can emerge. It is the opposite of the fit. Don’t “listen” while prepping your next zinger or point. Just listen, and do your best to understand.
2. Invite, Don’t Lecture
Lecturing keeps the old spell alive; it just changes the mouth delivering it. Communication begins with invitation: “Tell me what you think. Help me understand.” You don’t have to agree with the other guy to listen. But you can’t converse without hearing him. What would Trump do? We’ve all seen it this week and last – he would solicit input and listen.
3. Speak Plainly
Cancel culture thrives on jargon and slogans. Real communication depends on clarity. Say what you mean without hedging. Plain words cut through fear. And invite plain words in return. When your conversational partner slips into jargon, require him to define the words that aren’t clear. Don’t let him speak a different language to you; it’s how the other side shuts you out of their conversation.
4. Share Stories, Not Just Arguments
In Salem, testimony mattered because it was lived. Today, statistics rarely change minds — but stories can. They humanize, they connect, and they invite reciprocity: “Here’s what happened to me. What about you?”
5. Model Confidence Without Rage
Truth doesn’t need hysteria. Calm strength makes dialogue possible even in hostile territory. It reassures the silent majority that they’re not alone — and invites them to speak up.
Start Communicating Again
Communication is more than words spoken; it is expression and reception together. Talking without listening isn’t communication — it’s performance. The Salem girls showed us what happens when a community refuses to communicate: conversation collapses into hysteria, and truth is smothered under ritual noise.
To rebuild, we must recover active listening — stillness, attentiveness, the willingness to hear without preparing the next attack. When people feel truly heard, the spell weakens.
This is what the mobs have forgotten. They lecture, they label, they silence, but they do not communicate — not even with their own 80%. If we are to move forward, our strength must lie not only in speaking truth but in practicing the full exchange of communication.
Breaking the cancel spell clears the stage. Real communication fills it. That is how we move beyond Salem.
Cancel culture is nothing more than Salem with Wi-Fi — and like Salem, the spell will eventually break. Yesterday, I showed how the fits began; today, I show how they end — and how real communication can rise from the ashes.
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