When, in June 2022, the philosopher and former Point columnist Agnes Callard considered the possibility that she might one day be “canceled” in an op-ed in the New York Times, she predicted that such an attempt would have one of two causes: either she would write something offensive or she would exhibit a personal failing. Her prophecy came true on both accounts, though doubtless not in the way she anticipated.

In a tweet posted on November 1st, Callard confessed to throwing away her children’s Halloween candy each year after they go to bed. Though Halloween was over, it quickly became clear that the ghouls and goblins had yet to slink off to their graves. Thousands of Twitter users descended upon Callard. Her tweet, they insisted, was very offensive, and hinted at deeper personal defects. They massed in her mentions and quote-tweets to condemn her parenting, dredge up rumors about past domestic affairs (never mind what effect that might have on her children), speculate about her sex life and evaluate her personal appearance. Some took it upon themselves to contact her employer, the University of Chicago, and demand that she be fired. After receiving a death threat over the phone, Callard had to file a police report. “You should have seen the policeman’s face when I explained why ppl were after me,” she wrote to us in private correspondence.