- July 8th 2020 -
The cancelling
-the uncomfortable conversations-
We have seen the cancelling grow over the last decade. A movement to bring down anyone who is not, and has not been "woke" for the entirety of their life. A new culture that fails to understand that just as time is linear, so is culture and what is deemed acceptable by society as a whole. We are seeing a breakdown of a willingness to understand context and that a single point does not encompass the whole.
- cancel culture -
How did we get to this place? A place where a few tweets, or a Facebook post from 10 years ago can destroy you today. A mob rule that can, without oversight destroy every aspect of a person, from their job, to their schooling, the entirety of their reputation. Now we are seeing this same action being taken against those that have differing opinions then the majority. We see this almost daily, from Kevin Hart to JK Rowling. How do we change this, how do we change a culture?
Many are now starting to speak out about cancel culture and the harm that it is doing and potential harm that it can do in the future. When everything and everyone are cancelled, what a bleak existence we will live. This cancelling comes from "offense", being offended by anything that does not meet with the world view that some hold, but I go back to a quote by Ricky Gervais, "just because you're offended, doesn't mean that you're right".
There was a time studying science was against the majority. There was a time that standing for peace was against the majority. There was a time that standing against tyranny was against the majority. Some days it feels like we has come full circle.
I see cancel culture in two separate lights, the first is a reaction to those things that we disagree with or offended by. This is where I see it growing daily. Instead of being able to have civil discord and agreement that we can have different view points, the mob would rather silence disagreement and offense. The second is a push to drum up anything in the past to bring down people today. Both of these have separate but equal implications on our future. The first creates a silencing of all opposing viewpoints, thus creating a mob rule that stagnates growth and ingenuity. Some may enjoy this for a minute, but the loss of dialog and creativity will soon take its course. The second can have larger consequences on the forefront, cancelling people for transgressions in their late teens, and twenties, some decades ago can cause many good men and women to refuse to work in roles that are needed today. This loss of tenured professionals can cause a ripple effect that can impact every aspect of society.
We need as a society to come back to the understanding that we are all human. We all have and will make mistakes. We all can learn from our past and improve our future.
- Don't buy in to the mob, because the mob will always come after you when the other targets are gone -
-Alex-