TWO VIEWS: Should cancel culture be canc
As public figures are held accountable for their past actions by soc or not cancel culture actually brings more harm than good COMMENTARY BY CRISTEL CANTARERO, STAFF WRITER
YES H
ATE DOES NOT CANCEL OUT hate. Whether it is the Hype House or other social media influencers, cancel culture does not allow the opportunity to make mistakes. Originally, the idea of cancel culture intended to shed light on serious issues that public figures were involved in. Now, the endless amount of backlash has evolved into a culture that lacks room for personal growth and causes people to develop serious mental health issues. Psychology researchers for adolescent health, Mitch van Geel and Paul Vedder studied the relationship between peer victimization, cyber-bullying and suicide in adolescents. They found that cyberbullying had a stronger link to suicidal ideation than other forms of bullying, having a deeper effect on people’s mental health. Cancel culture multiplies this effect significantly because of the thousands of people that send death threats and humiliate others. Taylor Swift was one of the first victims of cancel culture. In 2016, Kanye West’s provocative lyrics about Taylor Swift resulted in a public uproar. Her attempts to defend herself were a failure, as even Kim Kardashian went to the media and portrayed her as a liar. The hashtag “#TaylorSwiftisCanceled” trended on Twitter that same day and the results of the 2016 drama had lasting effects for years. Swift received an excessive amount of hate, backlash and death threats for something that was later proven to be false. The main purpose is to harass people for their mistakes instead of allowing them to change. For example, 33-year-old Youtuber Jenna Marbles recently announced she was leaving her largest platform due to all the hate she was receiving. She was canceled because of videos that resurfaced from 2011 and 2012, where she shamed women, impersonated Nicki Minaj by doing black face and sang along to a song that made fun of how Asians speak. In the Youtube
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video where she announced her break, she said she wanted to make sure she was not putting out content that could be offensive to anyone. Marbles has apologized relentlessly and has even showed support for the Black Lives Matter Movement. However, many people ignored the changes she has made as a person and continue to send her hateful messages about mistakes she has made in the past. “When [celebrities] get canceled and their whole reputation is tarnished, it does take a negative toll on their mental health,” junior Ingrid Moises said. “If they want to do future projects they know no matter how good it turns out they will be hated on, no matter what.” Further, when a public figure gets “canceled,” trolls attack all professional and personal endeavors. Any albums or projects released are undoubtably boycotted. People cannot show any kind of support for the artist or business or else they are considered part of the problem. The Internet hypocritically pushes the limits on what is acceptable and holds no remorse for its venomous actions, creating a false reality where people think they are justified in trying to serve justice to every problem in the world. Cancel culture alters people’s freedom of speech. While allowing people to give their opinions on celebrities more freely, cancel culture also causes public figures to no longer be as open as they used to, out of fear of being “canceled.” Former U.S. President Barack Obama even discussed the toxicity of cancel culture at the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit, stating that even the best people have flaws, not everyone always knows about issues going on and people participating in cancel culture won’t get far in life. Ultimately, everyone has flaws, even the people who do the most good. Cancel culture makes public figures the face of brutal judgement for every image, every video and every podcast that they share, leading to detrimental effects on their mental and psychological well-being. h
