I’m not a fan of cancel culture. For most people who say or do foul things, including those that are racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, or in any way injurious, I believe in the capacity for redemption.
As someone who has met with death row inmates and believes that even most violent offenders are capable of change, I have to assume the same is true of bigots and assorted idiots who say all manner of stupidity on social media or a message board.
If a murderer is capable of redemption, some pasty, unbathed, zit-popping, Cheetle-fingered Adderall fiend spewing hate to fellow gamers on a Discord server probably is too.
And except for cops, judges, teachers, doctors, and other medical professionals, whose bigotry can overly determine other people’s life outcomes, I don’t think folks deserve to have their careers wrecked over something they said.
For most people, a bit of exposure and a brief period of public rebuke will suffice, and a chance at professional redemption seems appropriate.
That said, those who make the loudest noise about the injustice of cancel culture — the ones who have turned it into their entire standup routine or made it the subject of their cable talk show, podcast, or a significant portion of their syndicated columns — are hard to take seriously.
Even if I agree with their underlying sentiments regarding the “canceling” of people with little power who did something offensive on TikTok, their obsession seems not only overwrought, but also disingenuous.
Why?
Because none of them ever propose alternative or better ways — other than social stigma, scorn, or cancellation — for dealing with those who engage in hateful behavior.
It’s not as if the critics of cancel culture say they agree with anti-racist, anti-sexist, or anti-whatever goals but merely differ on the methods for getting there.
They simply don’t prioritize challenging racism, sexism, or other forms of bias at all. To them, these are essentially non-issues.
Bari Weiss, Dave Rubin, and Andrew Sullivan weren’t exactly animated in condemning systemic racism in policing either before or after the murder of George Floyd. Quite the opposite.
They would have been among those denying such a thing even existed.
They still are.
Sullivan, for his part, is the guy who excerpted The Bell Curve in the pages of The New Republic when he was editor, so his anti-racist credentials are non-existent, while his racist ones are well-established.
Bill Maher and Joe Rogan, though known for running their mouths about everything, haven’t found the time (or the interest) to offer ideas about how best to challenge transphobic behavior other than by shame and professional consequence.
Probably because they’re both too busy being transphobic.
It’s not as if Adam Carolla has devised some grand plan for confronting misogynists and rape apologists, which nonetheless manages to strike just the right balance between condemnation and the principles of restorative justice and healing.
He just doesn’t give a shit about misogyny and rape apologia.
These things don’t bother him all that much, and he doesn’t think they should concern you, either.
What these voices are saying is not some version of, “Hey, we need to stop bigotry and prejudice and shittiness in the way we treat each other, but you’re just doing it wrong.”
They’re saying, lighten up, it’s just a joke, followed by any number of slurs based on sex, body type, disability, race, or sexual orientation.
And if you don’t find that kind of thing funny, or if you believe those who engage in such verbiage should be shunned or even strongly criticized, it’s because you’re a killjoy or, even worse, a fascist bent on destroying free speech.
Even as criticizing racism and other forms of bias is itself an exercise in…free speech.
Until and unless those who condemn cancel culture as some modern woke scourge demonstrate their commitment to addressing the social ills that cancellation seeks to remedy (however badly and clumsily), their plaintive cries about tyranny deserve to be ignored.
To take them seriously and elevate their whining to a level of social truth is to say that we should be more worried about those who seek to fight bigotry and prejudice than those who spread it.
And anyone prepared to die on that hill has told you plenty about themselves — none of it good.
—
This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock.com