Cancel Culture

Jul 9, 2020

What is cancel culture?

To ‘cancel’ or remove support/punish people or companies after an offensive gesture
A movement where people were ‘canceled’ (removed from jobs/ socially held accountable) most commonly in the form of social media

People are being held accountable by society
- System is created where people face consequences for socially unacceptable behavior
People are more aware of their actions
- Heightened sense of checking their behavior so ‘cancelation’ will not occur
- Companies have to be more accountable
  - Better HR policies

Breeds a culture of fear
- People are afraid to disagree and express their opinions in case they are ‘canceled’
  - Curtails growth and does not allow for open discussion
  - Creates echo chamber for opinions
Consequences of being ‘canceled’ can be dire
- People lose jobs and livelihood over ‘cancelation’ where it may not necessarily be justified
- Creates an environment of bullying
Corporate and social cause division is blurred
- Companies can be forced to side one way or other when other employees may be in disagreement

Does the punishment fit the crime?
- People have different opinions depending on nature of crimes
  - Women lost her job and bullied may not have needed to be the outcome to inspire change
- Some crimes are met with general agreement
  - Bill Cosby and sexual assault- deserves to be canceled

Should justice be left to judicial court system?
- Yes position: court is more objective, less fueled by emotion, less ‘mob’ mentality, too lenient for big crines
- No position: big change has not come necessarily from court rulings and more extreme action is necessary
Should society be the one to enact this power?
- Yes position: creates more personal consequences
- No position: public shaming, less freedom, can often be too extreme

Racial, sexual assault, overarching big ‘NO’ deeds
Should politics matter?
- Different viewpoints should not be penalized but inherent fear to be wrong by societal standards can exist in sub context