Showerthought: People keep mixing up 'being held accountable' with 'being canceled'

I see this all the time, especially on my social media feed. Someone faces real consequences for a bad action, like a boss getting fired for stealing, and the comments are flooded with 'cancel culture strikes again.' That's not cancel culture, that's just... how things should work. I saw it last week with a local news anchor in Phoenix who got let go after a harassment investigation. People called it a 'witch hunt,' but the report had specific details from five different staff members. It matters because when we call every bit of pushback 'canceling,' it makes the term meaningless and drowns out the real conversations about when things go too far. How do you even start to talk about the line between fair criticism and a mob when the words are so messed up? Has anyone else noticed their friends using 'canceled' for any kind of pushback now?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakotas5417d ago

Ugh, right? It's like people forgot what being responsible even means. How are we supposed to talk about actual problems when every little thing gets called the same name?

stellac6617d ago

So what would you call a real problem then?

the_hugo10d ago

When you said "actual problems," I pictured my last attempt at adulting. I spent twenty minutes yesterday trying to decide if a slightly soft avocado was a crisis or just a sad lunch. Real problems don't usually get solved by throwing the avocado away and ordering a pizza.