CANCEL CULTURE’S CASCADE

Last month Linkin Park, one of the most iconic and successful bands of the 2000s, announced that they had got back together, were releasing a new album and had a new singer in the form of Dead Sara lead vocalist, Emily Armstrong. This led to hundreds of social media posts remembering former singer Chester Bennington, who took his own life seven years ago, including a previously unreleased video taken by his family showing how “happy” he was in the days before his death.

Watching these videos and reading the posts stirred up many strong feelings in me, and I thought that I would be writing this column about suicide and mental health (which would probably have been apt seeing as September was suicide prevention month). But then something else happened – the internet lit up with calls to “cancel” Linkin Park’s new singer and even the band itself!

This was not because of fans being unhappy that Chester Bennington had been replaced (though there were many of those too), but rather due to it coming to light that Armstrong was a member of the Church of Scientology and had reportedly at one stage provided support to convicted rapist Danny Masterson of That ’70s Show fame (who is also a Scientologist). That was when I decided I was going to write about so-called “cancel culture” instead.

Armstrong responded to the criticism, explaining that she had indeed briefly supported Masterson, who she at the time considered a friend, but very quickly realised that she should not have when the details of what he had done came to light. She did not say anything about being a member of the Church of Scientology or not. However, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides for both freedom of religion and association, and besides, it turns out that she was born into the Church, which is known to be very hard to get away from once you are a member.

I am in no way trying to defend Armstrong, but I am just using her example to try to highlight how easy it is for someone to be accused of something and for thousands of other people to jump on the bandwagon before taking the time to look deeper. This, of course, is not only a problem when it comes to people’s reputations; it is part of the overall damage that social media has done to our critical thinking skills. After all, who still has time to actually think before posting? You might just miss out on the outrage!

Not everyone has the platform to defend themselves from allegations like Armstrong does, and, while there are some people who undoubtedly deserve to be cancelled, these kinds of “cancel culture pile-ons” can have real-life consequences. Being the recipient of one of these pile-ons could lead to mental distress, and in some cases has even led the recipients to commit suicide because they could see no other way of resolving the situation.

Being able to criticise someone is of course anyone’s right, and pointing out a mistake someone has made can provide a learning experience and lead to change. However, as psychologist and author of How to Build a Healthy Brain , Kimberley Wilson, points out: “Cancel culture often denies the cancelled individual the most basic of human opportunities: to apologise and to be absolved, because the road to redemption is blocked by the indignant mob.”

Being able to criticise someone is of course anyone’s right, and pointing out a mistake someone has made can provide a learning experience and lead to change.

There have been many well-known voices who have spoken out against cancel culture and especially the speed at which people join the pile-on, forgetting that they too have flaws. One of these was former US President Barack Obama, who said: “This idea of purity and you’re never compromised, and you’re always politically ‘woke’ and all that stuff. You should get over that quickly. The world is messy, there are ambiguities.”

Indeed there are, so the next time you see someone being called out on social media, take the time to think a bit and do your research. It might turn out that they did not even do what they are being accused of doing, or that the situation is more nuanced than it first appears – most things are. And besides, do you really want someone else telling you whose books you should be reading, which music you should be listening to, or what movies you should be watching? Or would you rather want to make up your own mind?

Until next month, enjoy your journey.

- David Bishop