The intention of cancel culture is to hold people accountable for hateful behavior, however, there are other effective ways of holding someone accountable without having to cancel them. Numerous celebrities have been canceled, from the late author Dr. Suess to the recent cancellation of Kayne West. Cancel Culture is a form of boycott where the public will humiliate a person for their version of “bad behavior.” Many people think canceling in a public manner is an effective way to shame bad behavior, but, try to open your mind a bit. The Insider wrote, “ Cancel culture focuses on individual accountability and fails to acknowledge the systemic issues that are often at the root of hateful behavior. In other words, cancel culture shames the person into realizing their individual beliefs aren’t always acceptable, but it fails to educate the person on why these beliefs are problematic and hurtful, which allows the hateful ideology behind cancellable offenses to exist unchecked. Shirani M. Pathak, a retired psychotherapist and DEI consultant, argues that cancel culture creates an us-versus-them dynamic that “amplifies the problem rather than addressing it.”
Today, when someone does, or says, something “offensive.” A public backlash on social media happens. Cancel cultures are inherently exclusionary to the principles of free speech and democracy. This year we have canceled so many big brands and famous individuals without the chances of investigation or redemption, we restricted the free exchange of ideas.
The core element of cancel culture, public humiliation has been used for many years, from Medieval Europe up through Colonel America. Public tarring and stoning was a form of public humiliation to keep people in line. It created boundaries to ensure no one got too high and mighty. What is so different about today? Social Media. Whatever you say can’t be erased. Your ideas are meant to be shared but now you can and will get canceled for anything. I condemn all racism, bigotry, and sexism etc. but what makes us any better sitting behind our screens and hating them? The comical thing behind canceling is that it happens for such a brief moment and before you know it the person being canceled is making the same amount of money they did before, posting the same things on their social media platforms, and continuing the same lives they did before. For a brief second do cancellers feel they did something for the greater good then it all falls back into place.
In 2020, Lizzo was canceled for promoting a 10 day smoothie detox. She posted a Tik Tok video about her journey. Throughout the video she shared how it had improved her mental health, sleep, hydration, and skin.Yet, her fans were not impressed. One comment read, “You gotta do what feels right for you, I respect that. But I have to say for those of us in recovery from ED who loved your body positivity, this is a real bummer. I will always be a fan of your music, but I can’t have this kind of diet industry hype on my feed.” Lizzo had to then explain herself, but, this was her journey that she wanted to share. What is so wrong with that? She’s known for living a healthy lifestyle and spreading body positivity. She had never said anything about how it changed her weight. She was still canceled for a very brief moment. There is a solution, all you have to do as a viewer is not watch it and not take it personally. Influencers are not pointing fingers at one person. They are trying to promote an item, they get paid to do it. They shouldn’t have to restrict what they believe is alright just so our feelings do not get hurt. Tying into what I said before, her cancellation lasted two weeks. Everyone forgave and forgot. She never faced a real punishment which is the intent of canceling. Hating on her was a waste of time and energy.
