What Is Cancel Culture? (Part 3 of 3)
Cancel culture can sometimes look like a social justice movement, but far more often it’s the opposite.
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This essay is the third and final installment of a three-part series titled “What Is Cancel Culture?” Part 1 addressed the question of when firing someone for their political views constitutes standard business practice and when it crosses into an example of cancel culture. Part 2 explored what sets cancel culture apart from a traditional boycott by examining their different aims.
This essay, Part 3, examines the divisive nature of cancel culture, contrasting it with genuine social justice movements, and highlights its detrimental effects on individuals and society as a whole.
About the Author
Julian Adorney is the founder of Heal the West, a Substack movement dedicated to preserving and protecting Western civilization. You can find him on X at @Julian_Liberty.
Cancel culture is sometimes defended as just another facet of social justice movements like the Civil Rights Movement. It’s seen as part of a groundswell effort by historically marginalized groups to come together and hold the powerful to account. Writing for Vox, Aja Romano argues that, “The idea of canceling began as a tool for marginalized communities to assert their values against public figures who retained power and authority even after committing wrongdoing.” Anne Charity Hudley, Associate Dean of Educational Affairs at Stanford University, elaborates on this idea: “for black culture and cultures of people who are lower income and disenfranchised, this is the first time you do have a voice in those types of conversation.”
To be fair, sometimes cancel culture can look like this. The #MeToo movement, for instance, was a grassroots effort of those harmed by sexual violence calling out their powerful abusers. But far more often than not, cancel culture is the opposite of a social justice movement.
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