Key Post #1: Cancelled

    The past few years have been filled with #insertnameiscancelled trending on twitter. Practically every morning I wake up and check twitter to see that someone is being cancelled. These cancellations can last for years, or merely a day or two. There is a problem with "cancel culture" however, as sometimes it goes so far that peoples livelihoods are disrupted. 



    First I'd like to distinguish the difference between a difference of opinion and harmful speech/actions. Everyone in America has the right to have a difference of opinion, it is encouraged, it is what makes America America. However, sometimes some of the celebrities or influencers that are cancelled on social media are cancelled because they have different political beliefs. For example, Dixie Damelio is a tiktok influencer (I still can't believe we've made this a thing). Someone found an old picture of her room where she has a Trump flag hanging on her wall. She was cancelled for the day. This was simple a difference of opinion. While I don't agree with her political beliefs, she is doing no harm by having them. Dixie Damelio and her sister Charli Damelio were cancelled later on for a different reason. In case you didn't know, we are living in a pandemic. Most influencers are doing their part by encouraging their fans to continue to social distance and wear masks. The Damelio family was no different, however, their actions showed differently. The Damelio family was spotted on vacation at the Bahamas with a large group of friends. They were cancelled for not following social distancing and being hypocritical to their earlier statements. This in my opinion was justified as they are influencers with a large youth following that look up to them. They were also cancelled later because of their immature behavior in a youtube video, but I will not be discussing that today. You can read about it here. Currently, the Damelios seem to be in good standing with the media (for now).



Another example of cancel culture is Shane Dawson. Shane Dawson is a youtuber that started making skit videos on youtube very early on. His skits would feature a lot of inappropriate and racist jokes. Recently viewers have brought up the fact that his skits were extremely problematic, causing him to be cancelled. This is not just a difference of opinion, this was racist, problematic, and inappropriate. He has since apologized for his actions, but since there are literally hundreds of videos of him making these terrible jokes, not many people have accepted his apology. He was also in his twenties when he posted these videos, so he was an adult that should have known the difference between funny and hateful. He is still cancelled to this day and has not uploaded any videos since June of 2020. 

There is an inconsistency with cancel culture. For example, youtuber Jenna Marbles was cancelled for a day after buying the wrong fish tank for her new fish. She made a 40 minute apology video (no, really, you can watch it here), and most people agree that this was a crazy reason to be cancelled. However makeup artist Jeffree Star has been racist on multiple occasions, but somehow still has brand deals and a functioning youtube channel (even though his friend Shane has no career anymore). Cancel culture is problematic as it doesn't protect dissent. As I've discussed, there are times when cancel culture is justified (Shane Dawson) but cancelling celebrities for having different political beliefs is not ok and continues to be a problem to this day. If a celebrity uses their political beliefs as reasoning or justification for hate speech, that is not okay.

“YouTube Personality Shane Dawson Admits His Career Is ‘Over’ After ‘Racism’ Controversies.” E! Online, 8 Feb. 2021, www.eonline.com/news/1235859/youtube-personality-shane-dawson-admits-his-career-is-over-after-racism-controversies.

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