Source Image: Andy Dudley, 'Microphone head', 2008,
Via www.flickr.com/photos/sparetomato/2641110677

A Culture that is more relevant now than ever is Cancel Culture. Now, cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual, usually a celebrity or a public figure, thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is shunned. That is the best definition of it that you’re getting from me.

Now, the origin of cancel culture actually started in the 1980s but gained more popularity in the 2010s. Cancel culture does hold that person accountable for what they’ve done, although some people don’t actually care.

This can materialize in different ways. One of which is online mobs which is the one I think we see more nowadays. This can also be categorized as cyber bullying. They try to get people to take their own lives, dox people, or destroy folks lives for minor offences. Now don’t get me wrong, not everybody does do this. But there was an instance in 2019 where the trans community tried to cancel Dave Chappelle. And a young up and coming trans comedian defended him, and the mob turned on her, she ended up killing herself six days later. I remember when author Lauren Hough became a victim of cancel culture. The reason why was because she was reading reviews. Which, if you’re an author, you shouldn’t be doing either way but that is beside the point. People had flooded her Goodreads page with one star reviews because of it. These are awake 2 examples of online mobs.

Another one is trying to get people fired for speaking out. Now, in 2020, a children’s author by the name of Gillian Phillips was fired from her publisher. Now you might wonder why. She has changed her Twitter handle to include the hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling. That is what got her fired from her publisher. Now I get it. Don’t worry, I got it. It’s just people have their own opinions.

Other ways it’s materializes is disinviting speakers, self-censorship, and governmental pressure which yes, can also happen. It doesn’t happen often but it does happen. Now, government pressure is here because the legislators in public officials realized that they can leverage a version of cancel culture to punish corporations who don’t toe the right line. One example of this is that in 2022 when Florida passed a lot of revoking Walt Disney Company special tax status.

I will not say cancel culture is right or wrong because everybody has their own opinion. But I do have to say it’s not right to bully someone into doing anything. But that is the only stance that I have on the subject.