We all know too well the amount of people holding platforms, that maybe shouldn’t be, and I would like to think we all can agree that those who shouldn’t, have every right to be removed from the parasocial pedestal so many have placed them on. However, is the way we are going about “Cancel Culture” actually beneficial for anyone involved?
Let me start with my number one reason for being a hater of cancel culture: It is rarely rooted in genuine activism. Too often these events of canceling individuals become a performative task people use to gain some form of heroic-ness, whether it’s for themselves or a short lived amount of attention and applause from people they do not know. When we move into performativeness we do not create change, we lose credibility.
In general, the canceling process has become less of an ask for accountability, and transformed as an excuse to bully people online. I do see many people in comments, or making videos, who genuinely just want to educate, replace undeserving influencers with more deserving individuals, and push for accountability in those who have done wrong. However, these individuals are often drowned out by their hateful, bully-like counterparts. Telling people to harm themselves, making fun of their appearances, or reaching out to their families with hateful messages when they had nothing to do with their actions, is wrong, harmful, and so far removed from the goal.
Social justice should not shut down growth, but instead, encourage it. Our focus when “canceling” someone should be to educate and encourage conversation. The way we have been removing people from the limelight has instilled a fear that leads to immediate defensiveness, rather than a pursuit for change, education and growth. When this happens, nobody learns and the cycle simply continues.
And it is not only those being canceled that suffer from this process, but those doing the canceling are as well. When you are constantly utilizing your time to participate in outrage you are destined to hit burn-out and feel other emotional or mental impacts, especially if you were too quick to jump on the trend of judging whoever is under fire in the moment and they end up being innocent in the situation that fueled a cancellation.
Now, all of this may make it sound like I don’t support canceling people, which is wrong. I do believe that some people have done so much harm, they should not have a platform, however, we need to curate a process that is rooted in stronger moral values. Being open to respectful conversation, providing facts and information, addressing how the specific actions are harmful to others and where they stem from, and pushing an individual to reflect, learn and grow are steps we need to pursue.
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