JOANNE JACOBS: ‘A vogue for public shaming.’ “Forty-odd years ago, I edited letters to the editor for the San Jose Mercury News. Our letter writers often exasperated me, but there was one thing I could count on: They understood and respected freedom of speech. They knew people with whom they disagreed had a right to express their views, even if they were very, very wrong. That was before ‘cancel culture’.”