Cancel Culture

1697 Words4 Pages

Is Cancelling Culture Good For Society? Yes. I am a naysayer. Cancel culture, otherwise known as callout culture, is an ever-spreading phenomenon; this is the removal of support for individuals, companies, or groups of people because of an opinion or past act deemed objectionable. Especially due to the growth of social media and its role in society today, public knowledge of offenses is magnified across platforms and the world. This new phenomenon has given a voice to everyday citizens, allowing them to stand up against injustices publicly and loudly, and making sure that justice is served. Cancel culture is good for society, as it grants all people a chance to make a change, empowers social justice movements, and creates a system of accountability. …show more content…

While brands and companies may produce performative content such as posting on social media, it is often few and far between that they truly change their manners and workplace habits. A company will rarely alter its profit-driven practices in favor of better labor environments, more sustainable ingredients, and so on. True activism comes not from tweeting or posting on social media, but from real action and change. Cancel culture has made society lazy and complacent in a way; seeing someone or something post a graphic or a statement in favor of progressive change does not mean much at all. This culture is also an extremely short-term method of blaming and sharing, much like a cathartic release of anger. Akin to trends, society goes from one scandal to another and often forgets a wrongdoing as soon as an apology statement is released. We also often see cancelling culture backfiring, engineering sympathy from fans for the alleged offender. Extreme hatred and bullying cannot fix the issue. On the contrary, it creates more unbreakable divisions between parties without room for growth. Cancel culture rarely produces the results intended by the canceling itself, but instead produces negativity and anger, with the real problem …show more content…

Especially in the case of celebrities and popular influencers, those who cancel are often hard-set in their beliefs and judgments of another, refusing to offer room to grow or a second chance. Recently, many objects of cancellation are exposed to their actions as adolescents. Of course, while serious acts such as assault are grave, many other minor infractions that may have been socially acceptable at another time have come under attack. It is undeniable that everyone makes mistakes, and has done embarrassing, regrettable, wrong things in their past. While it is proper to call out someone for their past wrongs, it is not conducive to bash someone continuously for a previous mishap, especially if they have apologized and since acknowledged their mistakes. If we as a society only run toward bullying and tearing down someone for a mistake, we cannot grow as a whole toward positive change. Instead of running to cancel people, we should encourage people to share their stories, promote inclusivity, and learn from one another. Intolerance works on both ends, and systematically excluding anyone who disagrees with a viewpoint is unhealthy. A counterpart to cancel culture or calling out is the idea of calling in: promoting conversations with people to encourage growth on both sides and understanding that everyone makes mistakes. Addressing harmful behavior is important, but it

Open Document