Cancel Cancel Culture
Federico KG
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY—I’ll be the first to admit that cancel culture has its appeal. There is a certain beauty in speaking up for what’s wrong and holding people accountable. The idea of cancelling can seem to empower the voiceless and reinforce that each one of us has the ability to revoke the power we have given to anyone with a platform. But over time, I, and several others, have started to perceive flaws in the phenomenon. Aside from being rendered practically futile from its consistent overuse, and sometimes overblown reactions, a fundamental shortcoming presented itself: cancel culture does not allow for growth. How can we expect to evolve as a society if we negate the possibility that a person is capable of change?
The core of cancelling is good, it’s all about holding people accountable, making them take responsibility for their actions; however, I feel that its execution is ineffective and counterproductive. Rather than try to teach someone why the things they have done are wrong, its general hostility is alienating and causes rejection. It has moved from a stance of education, and repositioned itself as a witch-hunt. By cancelling someone, you isolate them and teach them not why what they did was wrong or offensive, just who they can do it in front of.
Cancel culture reflects a hypocritical belief of the impossibility for any individual to progress and expects perfection from everyone. Many are quick to dig up someone’s past and drag it forwards, negating someone’s chance of having learned and grown from their mistakes. Perhaps more problematic is the way that those who cancel confront those who have made a mistake, which is often brought up with a unique level of aggression. Swiftly, cancel culture shifts into a series of attacks (don’t get me started on doxing), instead of an actual opportunity for personal improvement. Instead of belligerently jumping on those who are uninformed or just simply wrong, why not kindly approach and show them a perspective? I think it’s important to work with the principle of charity: to always see the best side out of someone and their argument.
The whole idea behind cancelling is to block someone out if they have done something that is perceived as wrong, even if it was something done years beforehand. I think there needs to be a different approach to that: education not castigation. While the former attempts to bridge divides and demonstrate new perspectives, the latter just furthers the segregation of polar points of views.
And trust me, I understand the pain and anger that comes from seeing unchecked discrimination. Nonetheless, I still think that it is important to approach people in a kind and respectful manner. There likely are many questionable things I have thought, said, and done in my past; things that I would not consider to be okay today, but those things are not an accurate representation of my current beliefs and principles. Maybe in a few months I’ll be saying the same thing about my current self. I think we should all be more open to mistakes, to hold ourselves and others accountable when they are made, but I also think it’s important to have an amicable approach to things.
Most of the problems within cancel culture can be answered when considering the following two questions: What does cancel culture reveal about our society? and what behaviors does it perpetuate?
There is certainly more to be said. If you are interested in learning more about cancel culture check out CONTRAPOINT’s video essay, Canceling, on Youtube for an informative and entertaining experience!