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Cancel Culture
What does it mean to be "canceled"?
Holding individuals accountable for transgressions of acceptable public behavior is nothing new. But in today’s hyperconnected world, accountability has taken new form.
The slang term “cancel” is believed to have originated from Chic’s 1981 song “Your Love Is Cancelled,” which compared a romantic break-up to the cancelation of a TV show. Since then, “canceling” has evolved to reference the act of culturally blocking an individual from a prominent platform or career after they have acted or spoken in a manner deemed unacceptable or offensive.
Over the past several years, cancel culture—the phenomenon around “cancelation”—has become a deeply contested idea within the nation’s political discourse. There have been countless debates over what it is and what it means, including whether it’s a way to hold people accountable for social slights, a tactic to punish others unjustly, or something in between.
Does calling people out on social media represent accountability or unjust punishment?
51% Hold people accountable for their actions
45% Punish people who didn’t deserve it
4% No answer
WHERE DO YOU STAND? When “cancelation” happens, do you believe that people are rushing to judgment, or are they trying to be helpful? Is it productive behavior to call out others on social media? Which is more important: a welcoming and safe online environment, or the ability to freely speak your mind? Does the threat of “cancelation” prevent open and honest dialogue?
He Said, He Said: Cancel Culture
“I don’t believe in canceling anybody. I mean, Christians don’t believe in canceling people. Everybody can bounce back. I believe everybody’s a brother and sister, and they have the capacity to be changed and transformed.”
Dr. Cornel West
“What bothers me and worries me is that the world that we’re creating—and that’s enabled by the Twitter reality that takes hold—is one in which we’re not actually trying to make everybody as secure as the straight white man who used to be super-secure. We’re actually trying to make everybody as insecure as my [Black] father used to be, but everybody can catch it now.”
Thomas Chatterton Williams
