Cancel Culture

[zenolalia]

I know, I know, "cancel culture isn't real, it's just what white men call consequences so they don't ave to suffer them."

But listen.

The woman who makes Hazbin Hotel is currently being subjected to a mass campaign of harassment because 5 years ago she saw a youtube clip of some women, thought they were hot, and drew fanart of them. Then found out a few weeks later that they were racist shitheads who had done blackface. Viv apologized for making art of them, never did so again, and moved on with her life.

What, I ask you, is demanding HH be taken off the internet because of Viv having done a fanart 5 years ago and then apologized for it and moved on, if not fucking cancel culture?

Which brings me to tonight's talking point.

Cancel culture definitely does, in fact, exist. But, it is not equipped to punish people in power. No rich white man has ever truly suffered because of being "cancelled by the left." Louis CK is getting bookings again, Jerry Seinfeld is doing whatever the fuck he does, James Gunn is back in charge of Guardians of the Galaxy's films...

Cancel culture cannot and does not harm people in power, because the peopel doing the "cancelling" do not have equivalent or greater power with which to bring consequences to bear.

But it does encourage mob justice, unrealistic standards, and inappropriate use of long past mistakes that have not continued into the present. And all of that is then turn against marginalized people. Small time queer artists, essayists, activists, etc are held to standards far above what even the biggest industry names are held to. Because the big industry names have the power, reputation, and backing necessary to shake right past that kind of mob.

And independent creators don't. Furthermore, independent creators are much more likely to actually be concerned about the peopel their creating for, and thus willing to actually internalize criticism. So not only can they not avoid it, but they're hit harder by it.

Cancel culture is actively detrimental to its own causes: it doesn't punish harmful people, only well meaning people doing their best.

So, I guess, this is a warning as much as it is a post: if you think cancel culture is not real, or that it's a good thing, etc, then you'll probably not want to associate with my content too long.

Comments

[ruinsplume]

I'm interested in your take on this because mine is the opposite--that the most virulent cancellers are white women who (perhaps in desperate attempt to not be racist or prove that they aren't racist) are quick to judge not only other white women, but women of color. Not that cancel culture happens only around questions of race, but it does seem that many of the most vicious arguments happen there. Perhaps it's just a matter of there being more white women in my feed and more black women in yours--demonstrating that cancel culture is everywhere--but I am continually surprised by the patience of women of color online who go to great lengths to continue to explain, educate, and turn down the heat--to actively undercut cancel culture.

[leahandillyana]

Probably. I have personally never encountered cancelling in action on any of my feeds, only backlash against more idiotic examples of purity culture, but the occassional defense of cancelling are viral posts written by Black women (or at least as far as we assume that people are not lying on the internet - for example, I know that white terfs tend to masquarede as Black lesbians to make their clique appear less monochromatic).

[ruinsplume]

I think cancelling is unbounded by race, but that said, I also think we do need to receive critique of any kind mindful of the ways the critiquer has been marginalized, whether or not we agree with their approach/argument.