Cancel culture is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, “A way of behaving in a society or group, especially on social media, in which it is common to completely reject and stop supporting someone because they have said or done something that offends you.” Cancel culture is nothing new, it has permeated itself throughout the mainstream media and social media alike. While some view it as a good thing, a way to withdraw support from “problematic” or “intolerant” people, cancel culture must be taken for what it is, a toxic platform used to bully and censor people who have opinions that differ from the majority of the public. Every so often it will effectively “cancel” someone who actually is a problem, such as Kevin Spacey or Ellen DeGeneres, but usually the online community brings the hammer down on someone who actually doesn’t deserve it.
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Take famous writer JK Rowling, known for her progressive stance on many issues, she supports same sex marriage and racial equality and has woven these into her books, bringing awareness to much needed issues. Despite this, Rowling has been attacked online and there have been numerous attempts to “cancel” her. Why? Why would someone as open minded as JK Rowling be deemed “intolerant”? Because she believes that there are only 2 genders… that’s honestly not something that you should be potentially canceled over. Yet, Rowling faces significant backlash over her 2-gender belief and has been labeled as “transphobic”. Another undeserved cancellation was Lana Del Rey. People started complaining that her songs weren’t empowering enough to women, her lyrics are indeed over sexualized and romanticize cheating and sex among other things, but there are many other female artists who do the same as well. Lana stood up for herself and promptly made a list of other artists who did the same (such as Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Arianna Grande, Doja Cat, etc.) which only angered more people, who cited that the artists then she named happened to all be non-white, therefore Lana Del Rey is apparently racist now.
There are unfortunately too many undeserving cancelations to count, but the Lana Del Rey story leads to one of the more aggravating parts of cancel culture, the selective outrage. What that basically means is that the cancel culture mob pick and choose what’s okay and what is not. For example, the rapper Cardi B, publicly admitted to drugging and robbing men and there was little to no outrage. She explained that she said, “I had very limited options.” For those who don’t know, having “very limited options” does not justify drugging and robbing people, there were no real cancelations or repercussions and people flooded social media to support her, it shouldn’t matter what “options” she may or may not have had, that is in excusable. Another example is NFL star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who broke his 3-year-old son’s arm. There was an audio recording of Hill and his ex-fiancée arguing about it and she confronts him, telling him that their son said that Hill broke his arm and she also said that their son confided in her that he was afraid of Hill. Tyreek Hill actually responded with “You need to be terrified of me too (expletive)” not only does Hill still have a job in the NFL, but nobody also seemed bothered by this and he wasn’t canceled. Both of the examples were big stories on social media, yet they faced no consequences, it is at this point one would begin to believe that the cancel culture mob is selective about who gets canceled and who does not, which is profoundly hypocritical.
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Sadly, cancelations are commonplace. These aren’t just limited to celebrities either, normal people can actually be canceled just for having a different opinion, whether it’s a stance on politics or feelings about a certain movie or some other miniscule thing, it always has the chance of being blown out of proportion and it can happen to anyone. Lastly, what’s ironic about this, is that the cancel culture mob is always whining about people being “problematic” or “offensive” and that we as a society have to be open minded and inclusive, and that is true to an extent. However, the irony is that the cancel culture mob is easily one of the most intolerant groups of people the internet has had to deal with, it has become the epitome of mob psychology. They dehumanize people and it can ruin people’s career and their life, it has happened before and it will happen again, it’s so extreme to the point where it is actually a form of cyber bullying, and these are the same people who preach tolerance and open mindedness. Whatever purpose cancel culture may have once served has been diluted to the point where the term “cancel culture” actively make people roll their eyes. Sometimes forgiveness is needed and showing an understanding towards people is better than trying to cancel them, as Bryan Cranston said, “Whether it’s having an impulsive reaction to something and being frightened and doing something wrong and being ostracized for the rest of their lives…I think we need to take a second look at that and exhale and realize that asking forgiveness and receiving forgiveness are not weaknesses, but human strengths.” So just remember this next time you’re offended to the point where you want to cancel something, is it really worth cancelling? Are they really problematic? Sometimes forgiveness is the answer, never rush to cancellation as a first option.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcomed. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Anna Proulx aproulx@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu