While we have come to expect this on the radical right, censoriousness is also spreading more widely in our culture: an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.
With so many famous and serious authors signing onto this letter, I have to call out the use of the word "censoriousness". This word is commonly misused and misunderstood. It does not mean, as many assume, prone to censorship. That word is
"censorial." Censorious
actually means hypercritical of others, not trying to force them into silence. Given the literary nature and stature of the signatories of this letter, I would assume that those who wrote this (1) know this and are actually using the word correctly, but know full well that (2) most readers will assume the other, mistaken, interpretation of the word.
As to the larger point of this sentence, it is still, itself, quite problematic. First off, "public shaming" and "ostracism" are literally examples of counterspeech and open debate. In other words, this sentence appears to be complaining about the very thing the authors
claim to be supporting: counterspeech. Public shaming and ostracism are the consequences of speech that a group feels is ridiculous, problematic, dangerous or otherwise not worth spreading widely. That's the opposite of being
censorial. It is the opposite of shutting down speech. It is literally people speaking up to explain why those who hold odious views should be shamed for those views. It is a form of counterspeech and consequences from that counterspeech. On top of that it is an attempt to encourage bodies that host, promote, and elevate speech to think carefully about which speech deserves it.
That is quite different than actually censoring such speech and suggesting that no one should ever
be allowed to say what they want anywhere. It is saying
if you have dumb ideas, people may think you're dumb, and may ask why others are elevating those dumb ideas. The protests are not to say you can't speak, but rather to ask "why is this speech being held up as insightful or praiseworthy?"