Another day, another scandal, another person virtually crucified for another tweet in bad taste.
I am so over it.
People suck—they always have and they always will. Since no one’s perfect (no, not even you), we cannot “cancel” every single individual who messes up.
There are endless sexist, racist, ableist, etc., people out there. They are all ignorant and desperately in need of education. But learning is a lifelong process. Forming our own opinions, understanding the struggles of others, articulating ourselves correctly and getting to know the facts are all continuous processes. There is no one moment of awakening, no finish line. So let’s stop acting like we are all perfect angels.
Cancel Culture is composed of an army of self-proclaimed “woke” warriors (because everyone believes their beliefs are all-mighty and correct) that rise from the depths of the Internet to vehemently attack anyone who steps out of line. Cries to “cancel” people, erase their careers, destroy their livelihoods, and call for their condemnation ring in the echoes of social media feeds. It is terrifying.
How can anyone possibly learn when the second they make a mistake we silence them and attempt to slaughter their existence? Why are we adding more hate to issues that often stem from exactly that, hate? Not only is this is simply unproductive, this also propagates siloes between opinions, creates conflict without opportunity for conversation, and brews fear in those who may want to educate themselves but are scared of being “cancelled” just for asking.
Don’t get me wrong, if someone says or does something objectively wrong they should be told why their behaviour is unacceptable and face consequences in some circumstances, but, they should also be given opportunity to grow, correct and learn. Addressing bad behaviour can be accomplished in productive and meaningful ways. Cancelling someone accomplishes nothing.
I believe that nobody intends to be a bad person and the majority of problematic behaviour comes from uneducated and ignorant people. Let’s refocus “Cancel Culture” energy into rehabilitation. If someone constantly makes the same “mistake” or clearly has malicious intent, I find it morally permissible to sic the cancel hounds on them. However, this simply is not the norm in most cases. As such, I’m declaring Cancel Culture cancelled.
Related Articles:
- Harvey Weinstein: Who is Defending Him and Who Admitted to Knowing of His Sexual Assaults
- “My Anger isn’t an Attack” & Other Lines to Use When Being Censored
- Why Can’t We All Be Cool With Confrontation?
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