Cancelled Culture

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CANCELLED CULTURE, AND DO YOU FEEL LIKE A PERSON SHOULD BE CANCELLED FOR STANDING ON THEIR TRUTH? Wiseman #1 If a person in a position of influence of notoriety or celebrity, uses inflammatory, disparaging, insulting or offensive language towards a group or class of people based on that groups sexual preference, sexual identity, ethnicity, gender, age or body type. Today, in our current social climate, there is usually a call for that "offender" to be fired, or to be "cancelled. The company and or those corporate entities who have working relationships with the offender, via professionally endorsement deals, they're place under extreme pressure to terminate those contractual relationships with the offender. They all run for cover, fearing that they may be viewed as " guilty by association. " Guilty of prejudice, body shaming, anti-gay, anti-black, anti-women or anti-Jewish learning's. But the ultimate corporate fear is the loss of it's customers, as customers represent finance, money. For profit companies are just that, "for profit." If corporations lack moral consciousness, and the decision to disassociate itself from the so called "offender" is based solely on the anticipated loss of money, as boycotts, protest and bad press all lead to disruptions with revenue. If that's the obvious controlling factor, the offender shouldn't be cancelled because the company isn't actually empathetic. There is no true clear recognition and control for the wrong. Therefore, the offender should simply be allowed to utilise his or her right to free speech, and to be believed and remembered for their conduct and viewpoint. The same approach applies to the corporate sponsors. Forced apologies, lies and excuses aren't welcomed or needed, nor are they sincere. The offender should "Stand on their Truth" and the consumers, viewers, followers and supporters of that person, along with the associated companies, should privately look in the mirror to decide if the offenders truth is their mutual truth. Do the share the same beliefs? Within cancel culture, there's the semblance of censorship. Censorship is not the answer because censorship conceals. Censorship provides cover for those pretenders who throw rocks and hide their hands. For those cowards who wear hoods and conspire in the darkness. For those hypocrites who say one thing but secretly believe another. If you don't like offensive language, simply leave the room. If you don't like hate speech or hateful teachings, put the book down, change the channel, close your door, close your mind or ignore it if possible. Why download insulting and insensitive material? Distance yourself from that which causes you discomfort. Why perpetuate a fleeting moment by transforming it into an endless movement? WM #1 Wiseman #2 That is a very tough question considering the toxicity in today's society. The phone and the video captures everything, even the things that are not meant to be seen or heard by anyone other than the people in the room. We have a fetish to right the wrongs of other's, even if writing those wrongs destroys the individual, group, or institution in whole or in part. Some things need to be destroyed, especially when those things contributes to the destruction of others. Racism, mass incarceration, unequal pay between men and women, mandates that denies an individual the right to deny a vaccine that goes against their personal beliefs, unpunished police killings of minorities and anything else that constrains and marginalize people. Let's destroy those things. But when we, in my opinion, start taking every personal conversation and defining someone by what they said in private, we do more harm than good because we punish them by turning society against them, and then we say we are just and fair by doing so. That is not what justice looks like in my opinion. I think when we talk in our private circles, it may be offensive to someone else, but it doesn't mean that the individual should become a pariah because of it. For example, the camera phone catches a mother taking her four year daughter into a store clutching her arm tightly, as she bends down and screams to the child, "stop whining, I am not putting up with that shit right now." The person with the phone blast the image on every platform they can under the caption, "Unfit Mother scolding a child." What's fair about that? This moment shouldn't define her motherly love, but the pain that will come to her because of this image will be long standing and it is not right. The picture doesn't capture the daily love she gives to her daughter or the many sacrifices she makes to ensure that her daughters has all she desires. No! The picture captures one moment and that one moment has created so much destruction for a mother that lives every day of her life giving all she has to her daughter. No, that isn't right! That's just one example, but there's so many more. The Raiders coach Jon Gruden in my opinion should have never resigned from football. I say that because if it were that easy, then why hasn't society held the federal government liable and cancelled them for all they have done and continue to do to minorities? Jon Gruden said things in private that were offensive to other people, but how many things we say in private that we wouldn't say in public? What does freedom of speech actually mean? I would really like to know. How do we educate and enlighten Jon Gruden, or better yet, why should we punish him for standing on his truth? A person is entitled to his/her feelings and opinions, and those feelings and opinions are not necessarily factual for other people so we shouldn't be upset by them because in all actuality, they were said in private and not in public. We should look into our own selves and see that we are not perfect, that we may say and do things that may be contrary to other people ideals and beliefs, but we are still capable of being better. Destroying the individual does nothing but perpetuate the brokenness of our society. I think our truth belongs to us and it doesn't has to be liked by everyone, but at the same time, we don't have to force that truth in the minds and hearts of others. So we need to stop taking private thoughts, barbershop talks, and locker room banter into places it was never meant to exist. Let a person have their private time no matter who they are, but if they publicly say or do something that is intended to be malicious, then have at em'. We shouldn't scrutinised our comedians either, they are joking regardless of their subject matter it is not personal for them, they target everyone. I feel at times afraid to speak my mind because I am always looking over my shoulder to see if someone is ease dropping on me. We have in my opinion became so obsessed with ruining peoples lives with our phones that we forgot that we are all imperfect and that we all need forgiveness. So instead of putting the image or recording out there, do some research and find something out about the person, or better yet, slide into their DM and ask them to be better or just share how their words or actions affected you. Everything doesn't have to be consumed on a grand stage in order for their to be change and correctness, some things can be corrected by having a conversation that educates a person in some particular way. We can only give to the world what was given to us, so in that respect, let's have a little compassion and empathy so that when we have the urge to do something that may destroy someone's life, we may pause for a second to find a better way to help all parties involved. WM #2  Wiseman #3 Cancel culture, what exactly is it? At times, the term seems to be used sardonically, at other times, it has been a weaponized tone. Then there are instances where the listener can gleam from context clues, that the term is appropriate to explain why typically a white male in position of influence (be it entertainment, finance, etc.,) is not only called out for some form of sexual abuse, but taken to task and subsequently either fired or aptly termed cancelled. For far too long women and minorities have been powerless when it comes to retribution facing all manner of injustices. I won't belabor points of history that will prove such a position, however, I will ask US to recognise that the white male power structure in this country (the world for that matter) has not been taken to task en masse like we have seen in recent years. That act, the tenacity to "Do Something" has to be labelled, and given a name hence the term cancel culture. The draw back is the term like any other has been co-opted and highjacked to the point where depending on who is using it that's where you'll find it's potency one way or the other. There is a sap reality that most all the women who were successful in "cancelling" their boss or even a same level colleague, has to leave that profession. Well, it's not written in stone that she has to leave, it's written in the very "culture" of that power structure. She's tainted, a B-word, or a not so easily to work with woman who's not worth hiring. Imagine that! Your wife, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, their whole career gone for being successful in standing up to abuse! All the years of schooling, all the dedication to the job, or just plain hard work, gone! Not to even get into the lasting affects of the abuse itself which this writer won't get into out of respect for the abused. There was a time and in certain professions still is, where abuse or the accusation of it went not only unheard, but unchecked. Many of the abused stood/stand silent to the point of contemplating suicide. It is widely known and in many respects accepted that if we ignore, cover up, support the abuses, then the problem will go away. That notion is being challenged in a very serious way. Unfortunately, just like the use of the term, the expression of it has been coopted and well meaning good natured and yes innocent men has been cancelled as a result of the stigma/backlash of accusations of abuse, be it sexual or racial, homophobic, you name it. I heard one person describe it as collateral damage and it makes up for all the years that nothing was done in the face of evidenced accusations of abuse. As I grappled with that, I was stricken with inner turmoil. On the one hand I can stomach collateral damage, on the other hand I am outraged. It is in this very state of ambivalence I was struck with an epiphany ... That's the point at the term "cancel culture!" There's no need to term something that is universal to all human beings, regardless of gender, socioeconomic, racial, or any other category of humanity, JUSTICE! The principle of fair dealing, In Justice, the principle of wickedness acted out in any form. That's what we're dealing with people. Good of right & wrong! You make the choice when the facts are presented, you know what's just and we intuitively know what should be done. It's the conversation that leads up to the presentation of the facts that convolutes the entire environment where justice should take place. At the end of the day, let's cancel injustice in all it's many forms! BTW: We can thank Gretchen Carlson's taking down Roger Ailes and Fox news tacit defense of him and Bill O'Riley for "cancel culture" being weaponized and attempted to be watered down. WM #3 Wiseman #4 I think the cancelled culture is hasty in judgement of people's freedom of expression. There is a huge mob attack when there's disagreement. For example, there's often an attack on straight people if one says that he/she disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle. People have to hide there true thoughts in the closest. We are stifled from expressing what we feel or think. When will we have a real conversation opposed to immediately terminating a person, destroying their livelihood and censoring their freedom of expression? It is unfair to the person who has their own viewpoint. We remove the independence of thought and expression. We have to learn to open our arms to others and welcome their thoughts. We have to hear others and begin asking how did we/they arrive to the thoughts that we/they have, instead of just coming to the arrival of removing people from circles, groups, employment, society, schools, etc., We have to do better because the very person that you may cancel, may be the person you kill emotionally, mentally or ultimately physically. Respect one another! WM #4