Scroll up your timeline. Now scroll down your timeline. BOOM! Someone just got canceled again and it happened in the blink of an eye. It's a growing epidemic and absolutely no one is safe from being the victim of a cancellation..... Too dramatic?
The 'no ones' that I'm referring to are the people that we consciously or subconsciously place on pedestals. Athletes, music artists, actors/actresses, entertainers- ya' know, the "famous" people. Or at least the people that have an incredibly large platform, where every word they say or action they make is closely scrutinized.
To me, to cancel someone means: to no longer support or cosign what they do or say, to no longer give them your energy by contributing to their platforms, etc.
Social media (I'm mostly referring to Twitter, *Black Twitter) is both vicious and brilliant. It's a place where you can get ripped to shreds or praised for weeks. Am I wrong? I mean, that's how I see it. In the simplest sense of it, of course.
Yes, there are people that rightfully get canceled because.... trash. But, dang I almost can't keep up anymore. *in my Oprah voice* You get canceled! You get canceled! You get canceled!
Yes, I too, have gone along with the rest of social media and canceled certain people because like I said before.... trash. However, sometimes it seems as though we are overly hype and rush with the decision to cancel someone. (R. Kelly is most certainly and forever canceled though, please tell your Aunties to get with the program!)
Does the fact that these people aren't "normal people" leave them no room for fault or mistakes? Do we have such high expectations for them to maintain a certain level of "perfectness" at all times that we can't offer room for forgiveness or understanding?
Personally, I think we do have a tendency to hold them to higher standards because they're in the limelight and ultimately when they speak or do something, their voice and their actions are seen and heard by everyone. There's power in that. And when they mess up, which they inevitably will because they're human, we no longer see them as someone who can/should influence the masses. So, then what? BOOM! Canceled.
There are some people that truly revel in seeing the downfall of someone. Especially, the downfall of someone who has been considered a "fave" amongst everyone. I imagine those types of people prowl through the streets of Twitter just waiting for an attack, so they can make an unnecessarily long, grammatically incorrect thread filling it with #cancelled at every chance they get.
And to those people, I say: have a seat.
Ultimately, does our ability to cancel someone even make a difference? What does it even really mean to "cancel" someone? Is there room to take people back after we cancel them? Will my fave be canceled soon? Is there anyone who can never get canceled?
WILL SWAY EVER HAVE THE ANSWERS?
Find out next time on Dra- oh, sorry I got a little carried away!
I just have a genuine curiosity for why everyone is getting canceled left and right. Maybe I'm making it deeper than what it needs to be (story of my life), but I just think that canceling someone has become more of the trendy thing to do as opposed to actually making the decision to no longer support those whose mistakes aren't really mistakes, lack moral competency, and who don't even try to do better.
It's easy to cancel someone when you're not in the same position as them. People are people regardless of their status.
Hopefully, some of what I said made the slightest bit of sense to you, but if not and you've read this far down....
Thanks for reading, and don't forget... Be great! xoxo.