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https://www.hertelier.com/post/cancel-culture-vs-challenge Every time I hear about someone new being “canceled,” it makes me cringe, and I can’t help thinking of Gandhi’s words of wisdom, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” But then Cancel Culture wouldn’t have gained so much traction!
This is not to say that people shouldn’t be held accountable for hurtful or harmful behavior, it’s just that there’s something inherently distressing about being tried in the court of public opinion on social media by millions of strangers who think it’s ok to lash out without knowing all the facts.
“Nastiness, Schadenfreude, and dismissive characterizations of opposing opinions substitute for dialogue,” writes Steven A Hassan PhD in his piece for Psychology Today, Why Cancel Culture By Anyone Is Harmful and Wrong. Internet platforms are structured to get a payout from high emotion and clickability. Canceling and calling out posts fit perfectly into that paradigm. Commenting is instantly rewarding, and nasty and demeaning comments aimed at “trolls” or “deplorables” allow commenters to feel morally and intellectually superior. The act of canceling is “self-sealing,” as it protects the commenters from considering opposing opinions and critiquing their own position.”
“Is it time to throw the #CancelCultureIsOverParty yet?” asks Brooke Kato of the New York Post Gosh, I really hope so! To quote myself from a column I wrote In September of last year, Why We Need to Challenge Cancel Culture, “while we still enjoy freedom of speech, we owe it to each other to understand that our words do have power. Canceling is a dead-end…challenging can make all the difference in the world!”