Re-creating the "Suppressible" concern that was shown in this screencast from DHH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1jOWu7woKM

suppressible.rb

module Suppressible
  extend ActiveSupport::Concern

  class_methods do
    def suppress
      self.suppressed = true
      yield
    ensure
      self.suppressed = false
    end

    def suppressed?
      suppressed == true
    end

    private

    attr_accessor :suppressed
  end
end

Hmm, maybe the answer there is unless hooks on the specific callbacks