Blog Post #8 Pros and Cons of Cancel Culture

 

Pros and Cons of Cancel Culture

     I come from a background of being surrounded by older conservatives. When cancel culture became a topic of discussion in the media and in politics during the 2010s, they were quick to victimize themselves and villainize the movement. This reaction became even more prevalent after the "Me Too" movement. They all refused to believe that their precious, beloved celebrities would commit such heinous acts. Instead, they quickly accused the victims of being dramatic attention seekers.

    With this, my perception of cancel culture was blurred. That is until the "Me Too" movement. During that time, when women who truly suffered horrific abuse from men who saw no retribution, I was truly appalled by the reaction I was seeing. From that time until 2020, I participated and believed that cancel culture was justified. 

    Now, from my perspective cancel culture was taken to a new extreme during the chaos of the pandemic. The internet began canceling and writing off celebrities for actions and statements they made 20 years ago. Some of these cancelations were just, such as J.K. Rowling who openly made transphobic remarks and did not apologize. However, there were many public figures who apologized and acknowledged the wrong that they did. Yet, they still suffered the wrath of internet cancelation. I did not understand why we as a culture were insisting on ceasing our support of so many people who had done a lot of good for the world. 

    So, although cancel culture can serve as a necessary checks and balance system for public figures, we must establish a line. In order to fight the toxic environment on the internet, we have allow for humans to be humans and make mistakes to a point. At the same time, accountability must prioritized and harming another person should never be acceptable. In conclusion, I have no answer. Cancel culture is a complicated phenomena with no black and white good or bad.