Is it possible to cancel Cancel Culture?
It may be of no surprise to some people who read my blogs and social media posts that I have strong feelings about the negative impact of social media. I will often say it’s the ruination of society, harmful for younger generations, takes advantage of older generations and is a completely weaponised tool for governments. But soap box rant aside, there is one consequence of the online world that I detest and loathe most and that is “cancel culture”.
What is Cancel Culture?
According to Merriam Webster, “Cancel culture refers to the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today. This practice of "cancelling" or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms.
Now that’s Blunt
Some public figures who have been ‘cancelled’ include J.K Rowling, Will Smith, Kanye West and Armie Hammer to name a few. For some of these figures, the reasons for social cancellation was the comments they made or t In the last few weeks, the internet world tried to cancel Emily Blunt after interview footage surfaced from The Jonathon Ross Show. On the show, she referred to a waitress as ‘enormous’ in relation to their weight. It’s a silly, throwaway comment made in 2012 as she promoted her latest project.
Getting ahead of the scandal she released a statement that included,
“I’ve always considered myself someone who wouldn’t dream of upsetting anyone so whatever possessed me to say anything like this in that moment is unrecognisable to me or anything I stand for. And yet it happened, and I said it and I’m so sorry for any hurt caused. I was absolutely old enough to know better.”
Is it too late to say sorry?
I don’t want to cancel myself before I even launch my online career but in my view, public figures don’t owe the always offended online communities an apology. In relation to Emily Blunt, terms such as “fat-shaming” , “fat-phobic” and “grovelling apology” are some of the main keywords used in articles covering the incident. She made one poor comment and suddenly is being labelled and vilified by people who live and breathe in the comments section of E News and The Daily Mail.
Can these comment dwellers honestly say that they have never made an ill-fated comment about another person and regretted it? I have partially covered this topic in another blog titled ‘Sorry’ (Shameless plug) where I discuss making a crappy comment about another person that was overheard. Remembering this incident often makes my skin crawl but sometimes you just have to move on. Emily Blunt made a crappy comment, mob mentality should not derail her entire being.
The perpetually offended
It may be considered that those who are are often “offended” in the modern world are so in response to changing behaviour in relation to identity, gender and traditional norms. On one hand, it may seem that this is a positive thing and of course, in some cases, it is. I would call myself a proud feminist and believe that anything a man can do so can a woman. So with the online movement of female empowerment, confidence and equality this is something to be praised and applauded. People who fight against the culture of gender inequality are on the right side in this instance.
But on the other hand, I call absolute BS on anyone who feels so perpetually offended all the time that they use the internet, cancel culture and celebrity PR statements to hide behind it. The online world is full of narcissistic people, egotistical keyboard warriors and false representations of reality. In a digital world it is easy for something to catch on when there’s enough clicks, shares and views behind it. When that thing is hate, negativity and the attempt to take someone down who doesn’t conform to your ideals, your offence is not welcomed, necessary or productive.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again
I strongly believe in the power of social media for education, accessibility, building connections and entertainment. I love memes, funny videos and seeing what is going on in the lives of my friends and family. But as a whole, social media is largely a pile of nonsense. It’s people making us feel bad to feed their own agenda. It’s called lifestyle marketing for a reason. You don’t need that candle, that wearable blanket or hundreds of pounds worth of skincare just because Stacey Solomon told you so (No shade of SS, she’s a gem).
When I first properly started consuming online content I took it all for gospel, a dubiously named news site would never lie to me and all these people in the comments definitely know more about geo-politics than our leaders. At some stage. you have to become more savvy to consuming content and see through the total BS that lives in an endless TikTok feed. You’ve got to realise that those offended by terms, phrases and views often don’t even know what the core issue is they are really offended about. So, I ask again, is it possible to cancel “cancel culture” as long as you don’t cancel me?