The Issue With Cancel Culture
And why its contributors are hypocrites.
Our world is in the midst of a revolution. As Gen Z steps into adulthood, we bring with us a new set of beliefs that promote activism and bring light to social justice issues that -quite frankly- have been ignored in the past. Among these affairs is police brutality, gun control, immigrant reform, intersectional feminism, etc. Though we are nowhere near finished, the reformations already made are astounding and bring us one step closer to redemption. Be that as it may, our (long-overdue, might I add) intolerance for social justice issues has plagued us with yet another controversy: cancel culture. I've seen countless celebrities fall prey to the media after being exposed for some sort of wrongdoing. I mean, how many times has "#SoAndSoCanceled" been trending on Twitter? My point is, cancel culture doesn't even really make sense and here's three reasons why:
The hypocrisy.
A word I see floating around often is "educate." Educate yourself, educate others, blah blah blah. The purpose of "educating" someone is to make them realize and understand their own faults. The word in itself encourages maturation and growth. We learn from our mistakes. The thing about cancel culture is that it contradicts this notion. It leaves absolutely no room for growth. Like whatsoever. The people who promote "educating others" are the same ones who participate in cancel culture. It doesn't allow its victims to show that they have changed their ways, because they are shunned before acknowledging their wrongdoings. It is a toxic pattern that has taken root in the media and poisoned the public. One strike, you're out.
Cherry-picking.
Cancel culture cherry-picks like no other and it is so infuriating! Let's take Ariana Grande, for example. No one seems to mind her excessive self-tanning or the noticeably disturbing amount of cultural appropriation in her single "7 rings." If a popular TikToker -or literally anyone else- did the same things as she does, their reputation would be strained for good. Now, I don't believe Ariana Grande is a horrible person. But her supporters stay blindly loyal to her regardless of the things she's done, and it goes to show how cancel culture picks and chooses when to hold someone accountable.
It's relentless.
No matter how many times a person apologizes for whatever it is that they did, the public will never forgive them. Ever. Cancel culture says, "We want people to take responsibility and own up to their mistakes!" Yet as soon as someone does that, their apology is regarded as "fake" or "forced." Again, one strike, you're out. I mean, it almost seems like people hunt for these errs like they're building a case for someone's cancellation just for fun.
Like I said, it's great that we have taken so many steps forward in the past few years. But cancel culture is, at least the way I see it, a step in the wrong direction. If we want to promote peace and unity, how can we have so much hatred for people for making honest mistakes? The same mistakes we make? And I get it, some people mess up one too many times, and others are just flat-out bad people. But these aren't the people I'm talking about. I'm talking about those who genuinely apologize for their mistakes and are not given the opportunity to try again and better themselves. This is not to discourage calling people out - it is merely the ostracism that bugs me. We should be holding people accountable and "educating" them rather than giving them the cold shoulder.
Rich White Parents Can Bribe Their Kids' Ways Into College But People Are Still Mad About Affirmative Action
For years, the rich have been using their personal connections and vast wealth to continue bringing in opportunities for their lackluster children, yet for some reason, no one seems to bat an eye.
Wealthy people are paying for their kids to get into college?
*Gasp*
Honestly, tell me something I don't know.
On Tuesday, the FBI exposed a multimillion-dollar college admissions scandal executed by some of the most wealthy and prominent families in the U.S., two of which happen to be Hollywood household names. These overzealous and exceedingly wealthy parents participated in scandalous and unethical behavior, such as paying others to take their teen's admissions exams, as well as bribing college officials to say that their children were athletic recruits when they weren't athletes at all.
The most notable names from the list of 50 individuals charged are Lori Laughlin, former cast member of TV's "Full House," and Felicity Huffman, known for her role in "Desperate Housewives" as Lynette Scavo. These women appeared innocent on TV, but it's clear that the cookie-cutter demeanor their characters displayed couldn't be further from their true colors.
If we're being honest here, the only reason this is newsworthy is that the wealthy people being indicted are celebrities — not because college admissions scams are a new occurrence.
It's no surprise that the colleges where these scams have taken place have all been prestigious universities like Yale, Stanford, and UCLA. These institutions have a history of being exclusive, as well as placing money above intellect and ability. As the saying goes, "It's not about what you know, but who you know."
For years, people have been using their personal connections and vast wealth to continue bringing in opportunities for their lackluster children, yet for some reason, no one seems to bat an eye.
We all know it's going on, but no one is complaining and no one tries to stop it. It's almost as if we've just accepted that that's the way things are. Meanwhile, I hear at least one ignorant comment about affirmative action a year.
I'm being serious. It's like clockwork.
As a minority, you constantly feel as though you have to "prove" that you belong in certain spaces, especially those that are typically seen as reserved for the white, wealthy majority. With this country's history of limiting minorities' access to education, colleges and universities are definitely included in the list of those spaces. The idea that we don't belong in these spaces, nor are we good enough for them, is still highly prominent in our society, even though there have been vast increases in the percentage of minorities enrolled in postsecondary education.
As a minority student, your talents and abilities are constantly undermined, while your success is seen as the result of some type of "help."
Even though the majority of minority students busted their asses to get into college (and bust our asses every day to stay there), we are always verbally assaulted with the "affirmative action" slander. I once went to see a lecture by a distinguished marine biologist. He told us a story about someone harassing him during the early days of his career, telling him "it's because of affirmative action and people like you that I didn't get into [Harvard]." In 2008, a clueless and grossly privileged young white woman tried to sue the University of Texas for using affirmative action to discriminate against her (but the truth is that she was just a mediocre student). And for a personal example, I once sat across from one of my peers at the Honors College and heard him say "I have to look super good on my med school application or else I won't get in... Because, ya know, I'm white."
The idea that the only reason Blacks and other minorities receive opportunities is because of affirmative action needs to die.
Not only is it the furthest thing from the truth, but it is just another way to denigrate an entire group of people and diminish their accomplishments. Why are minorities always blamed when a white person doesn't receive the opportunity they think they deserve? The same people who think it's preposterous to say that white privilege exists are the same people claiming how "unfair" affirmative action is.
The truth of the matter is that affirmative action is not some sort of privilege to minorities (Blacks are still the smallest population of those currently attending college), and minorities aren't "stealing" opportunities from anyone. Perhaps if we acknowledged that the biggest threat to integrity in college admissions are wealthy and elite, we could end this tired debate around affirmative action and stop the actually mediocre kids from getting into colleges they don't deserve to attend.