Seen on a reader board: Will cancel culture cancel itself?
There are two answers to this:
Once they finally got rid of everything they objected to, they would be forced to, in order to avoid being labeled hypocrites.
They won’t because there will always be things they object to. They’ll redefine or expand what they’re targeting in order to keep going.
Members of the cancel culture have the same flaw as the Daleks and Cybermen: if they ever achieved their goal, there would be nothing left. The Borg are similar to Cybermen, except they’ll sometimes leave you alone if you’re not getting in their way.
There’s an effort to not have white actors do voices for non-white characters so that actors of that race or general area can have a better chance at obtaining the role. That means the one John DiMaggio will be able to get are going to be reduced and he no longer can be called “the blackest white guy in VA” (voice acting). Sorry, Johnny, you had a good run.
There’s a scene in the Bill Murray movie Stripes where they’re trying to get in last-minute training so they can graduate and he’s talking about how they move has to have rhythm. He says, “Black guys, help the white guys.” A black solder is offended by it and asks what he meant by it. A white soldier behind him (John Candy) deliberately repeats it back to him in a provocative manner.
This counts, right? Even though Bill Murray’s character didn’t mean any harm by it and was actually trying to get the platoon to work together by making use of an inferred resource or ability, doesn’t it have to go? We have to get rid of the movie or censor that scene because it’s a stereotype, even though it was addressed within the context of the movie. Isn’t that in keeping with the cancel culture?
I think if it is insulting to white people, then it is acceptable to the censor-mongers, so maybe Stripes would get a pass.
One of the funnies moments is right at the beginning… (no, not the ESL class / “Son of Bitch, Shit” scene, but that was damn funny, too.) When Winger and Ziskey (Murray and Ramis) are in the recruiter’s office…
The recruiter asks, “Are either one of you homosexual?”
Furtive glances between Winger and Ziskey
Then Ziskey says, “No, but we’re willing to learn.”
Hahahahaha! The recruiter is like, WTF??
But then again, when you’ve watched it hundreds of times, you have usually caught all the subtleties that you missed at first.
When my son was in his mid to late teens he was actually really right wing, bordering on being a Nazi sympathiser - as were a lot of his friends.
But he grew up.
So did most of his friends.
He realised that those attitudes were horrible and basically just a rebellion, and he changed them. He’s now almost 22 and he is an incredibly thoughtful and (mostly) considerate adult.
The Pumas’ captain was 18 when he tweeted that racist nonsense. He has since grown up and doesn’t hold those attitudes now. I think it’s ridiculouis to punish someone for things they did when they were basically children. We all did stupid stuff at that age - it’s part of growing up. If we were all punished for that now then society would grind to a halt.
What’s the statute of limitations on stupid tweets? It seems like it’s longer than for murder in Alaska (and many other states).
I know I’m preaching to the converted a bit - but I just wanted to vent.
Yeah, there is no statute of limitations unless your politics agree with the accusers. Then you can sincerely apologize and regret your actions, after begging for forgiveness.
A large percentage of people in some areas 50-60 years ago used the N word to describe black people as a standard. Even the black people living there did so. Racism or not, it was just the word everyone used, if Facebook or Twitter had been around then they’d all be cancelled.
What are we saying now that will get us cancelled in 5-10 years?
edited to add this.
Along with Matera, standout lock Guido Petti and hooker Santiago Socino have to been suspended over xenophobic tweets dating back to 2011-13.
In this case I don’t think it’s money. The Pumas were perceived to have disrespected Diego Maradonna. I’m not entirely sure how, but I think it’s because they lost so badly to the All Blacks. Which is another level of stupidity in itself.
But because they “disrespected” Maradonna, people hunted out these old tweets in order to get them in trouble. And the Argentinian rugby union jumped right in boots and all and pandered to the insanity - which, of course, only encourages the morons to do it again.
What they should have done is said “Like all of us, these players did something stupid when they were young. While we don’t condone those remarks, we are also not going to punish the players for something that they probably didn’t even believe at the time, and certainly don’t believe now.”
As per the cancel culture, none. Once it’s been identified as offensive, that’s who you are forever, no matter how long ago it was. You can never change as it’s more important to condemn you than to take the time to see if it still applies to you today.
Woodman, from what I understand, the N word wasn’t just a common way of describing them. It was a word they used with pride about who they were. It later became a word used to hurt them. Part of it may be from how it was used in relation to slavery. One of the few things I remember distinctly from school is the history class where the teacher was going over slavery and how they were equated to breeding stock. Specifically, they were called a “n***** bitc*” and “n***** stud”, depending on whether they were female or male.
It was said in a factual manner, to show the historical context. I don’t remember any of us being upset by it. It was something that happened and it helped us understand how slaves were not viewed as human.
Today, that teacher would be forced out before class even ended if they tried saying it. If it was recorded on paper or in an electronic format, they would forever be condemned as racist, no matter how it was said.
Now that I have shared that with you, it is in an electronic format that will last for years. But since all anyone has to go on is my word that it happened with no other identifying information about where it happened, when it happened and who said it (I don’t remember the teacher, just what was said), the cancel culture can’t go after that teacher to vilify them, even though it was years ago.
Actually, now (sort of). The three players have been reinstated. After their initial knee-jerk reaction, the Argentinian rugby board have backpedalled and said they aren’t going to punish them for something that was “a reckless act typical of immaturity”
And then there is this. I cannot begin to comment on how broken this is, and how there are going to be an awful many people unable to cope with the real world. If the consequences of this new-thought doesn’t terrify you, then I don’t know what to say.
Trigger warnings are supposed to be for things like rape and PTSD. Legit trauma. Not because someone says mean words. Unfortunately I see this all the time in many of my trans spaces and it does tend to be with the younger folks, particularly the under 30 set. I mostly keep my mouth shut about it in those spaces because that’s not a battle I feel like fighting.
