The Morality Behind Cancel Culture

    Cancel culture is a phenomenon that has become a pillar of American society and the internet. The online world acts as the hammer to its nail, a vehicle that exists to amplify this unique culture. Thus, as long as you aren’t living under a rock, you’ve come across at least one instance of someone being “canceled.” Maybe it was your favorite celebrity that made a series of tweets that were uncalled for. Maybe it was a celebrity that you didn’t like, finally getting what was coming to them. Nevertheless, everyone living in this country has at least heard of some famous person getting fired and ostracized from their industry.

    My personal first experience encountering cancel culture was in elementary school when Logan Paul filmed a dead body in Japan and posted the video on YouTube for all of his young viewers to see. Understandably, he got massive backlash and into legal trouble for his controversy. In this case, it’s quite easy to conclude that cancel culture is absolutely something that should be present within society. If someone commits a heinous act, there should be a rightful amount of justice that prevails with their consequences. However, what actually dictates the line between a simple mistake and something/someone that is deserving of being “canceled?” What if it was just a poor choice of words? A difference in historical or cultural context? What level of consequence should they experience for their actions? Moreover, should we, assuming that we were unaffected by their words/actions, be the ones to judge? As imperfect human beings, should we really be the ones to criticize others when we all have made severe lapses in our judgements and plenty of terrible mistakes?

    In my personal opinion, I believe that if we aren’t directly impacted and offended by the words/actions of an individual, it would be best to stay silent and let those affected speak up for themselves. Unless it's an action that is universally offensive and despicable, I believe that we don’t have a say or voice within the controversy. We shouldn’t be speaking up for the accused or the people that were affected, and we don’t have the right to apologize for or accept the apology of the perpetrator. All the extra comments and words from us bystanders and online spectators, just add on the messy debris and chaos that already exists on the Internet.