@feld You can't force people to forget. You can't force their devices to erase history either, without certain tyrannical measures. You can change their minds however. That is the difference between people and rats, isn't it?
I would say any theory of people you have that does not include yourself, has an obvious counterexample. Do you often have sudden irresistible urges to dig up ancient dirt on people and try to cancel them over it?