I have lost track of all the people and products affected by ‘Cancel Culture.’ What is cancel culture? Is it beneficial or harmful? Obviously every situation is different, but generally I’m not a fan, particularly when the target is a person. That said, I want to offer Christians some points to consider as well as a question they may lead to a discussion about God.
What is the purpose of the 'cancel culture' action? Is it for Moral Progress or Punishing People?
CULTURE
What is cancel culture? There are various definitions, but I like the following from Cambridge online dictionary: “a way of behaving in a society or group, especially on social media, in which it is common to completely reject and stop supporting someone because they have said or done something that offends you”[1]
In other words, if a group of people deems something to be offensive, they seek to have that person or object canceled or removed.
Some have said that cancel culture doesn’t exist. A CNN article stated the following: “That's because cancel culture isn't real.”[2]
That’s an odd statement. For something that supposedly isn’t real, it sure gets mentioned frequently. The same CNN article also stated: “People are almost never actually 'canceled'.”[3]
Really? That runs contrary to the definition above and multiple situations I’ve heard about. Let’s consider one specific, recent example.
Alexi McCammond, a woman hired to be editor-in-chief at Teen Vogue (not a publication I recommend) agreed with the company to part ways before she started the job. Why? Because of social media posts she made many years ago that were considered racially insensitive. Below is a quote with some context.
“…following the announcement of her hiring at Teen Vogue on March 5, more than 20 staffers objected in a letter to McCammond over her past tweets. She again apologized, but Ulta Beauty suspended a lucrative advertising campaign with the publication over the controversy.”[4]
In other words, staff at the company objected to her hiring, wanting her to be removed (aka canceled). Ms. McCammond’s response was to write a note to the publication’s staff and meet with them; her note included the following message:
"You’ve seen some offensive, idiotic tweets from when I was a teenager that perpetuated harmful and racist stereotypes about Asian Americans. I apologized for them years ago, but I want to be clear today: I apologize deeply to all of you for the pain this has caused."[5]
This is in addition to the apology Ms. McCammond tweeted in November 2019: “Today I was reminded of some past insensitive tweets, and I am deeply sorry to anyone I offended. I have since deleted those tweets as they do not reflect my views or who I am today.”[6]
Let me be clear, I do NOT condone in any way her previous tweets; and I also recognize this is a private company that can make decisions they deem appropriate. Moreover, perhaps there is more to the story I am not aware of. However, based on the information I have seen, that the tweets were almost 10 years ago when she was a minor and she apologized and said they do not represent her views, I was personally disappointed by the outcome.
I’m not the only one with this view. Steve Krakauer of Fourth Watchblasted the situation: "Do people still think ‘Cancel Culture’ doesn’t exist? Every time it feels like the peak, a new woke summit emerges from the clouds. McCammond, who happens to be a Black woman, for what it’s worth, previously apologized for and deleted these tweets in 2019. She posted them when she was 17-years-old. But it’s not enough. It’s never enough."[7]
Since this movement may not be going away any time soon, let me offer a simple question Christians could ask, which might be an approach to discuss the existence of God:
1. What is the purpose of the action? Progress or Punishment? Either answer may allow for a discussion about spiritual truth.
a. MORAL PROGRESS: If the action is truly seeking moral progress, I get it. We want to improve as a society. But if someone offers this answer, there is an important follow-up question:
i. How do we know we are truly making moral progress? What is the source of morality to measure society? This may be an interesting way to share spiritual truth with someone. I would contend that God is the best explanation for the existence of morality – SEE MORALITY: EVIDENCE FOR GOD. So when we see a news example regarding Cancel Culture, and someone suggest this is ‘moral progress’, we could ask, “What is the source of morality to measure whether we are making progress?” Are we making progress toward God?
b. PUNISHMENT AGAINST A PERSON: Is the action about punishment or retaliation against a person because someone is personally offended? It’s one thing to punish someone for breaking laws or rules of a company, but to target people because someone is offended? A follow-up question that may lead to a discussion about the Gospel might be:
i. When we stand before God, will we desire punishment or forgiveness? We could also ask, have you heard about the Gospel of Jesus? – SEE HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN.
RELIGION
As Christians, what should we think about ‘Cancel Culture’? I recognize that each situation is different, so a blanket response is probably not appropriate. But here is the question that comes to mind for Christians to consider:
2. Does the action align with Jesus’ command to forgive? Consider what Jesus said as part of the Sermon on the Mount.
"For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing. (Matthew 6:14-15 CSB)
I recognize that this typically comes into play when someone commits a wrongdoing against us personally. But I also believe this can be general guidance to be gracious toward people. Again, each situation is different and sometimes certain wrongdoing deserves punishment. Moreover, I understand if groups of people want to boycott companies because they have outwardly supported certain political or social positions. But in the example above, regarding a tweet of almost 10 years ago by a minor who apologized multiple times, I would hope my response would have been different.
As we celebrate Easter, the sacrifice of God’s Son for the forgiveness of sin, may we also remember that Jesus commanded His followers to forgive.
Summary Point:
Cancel culture situations that target revenge against a person may violate Jesus’s command to forgive.
[1]https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cancel-culture [2]https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/07/us/cancel-culture-accountability-reality-trnd/index.html [3]https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/07/us/cancel-culture-accountability-reality-trnd/index.html [4]https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexi-mccammond-teen-vogue-editor-uproar-tweets [5]https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexi-mccammond-teen-vogue-editor-uproar-tweets [6]https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexi-mccammond-teen-vogue-editor-uproar-tweets [7]https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexi-mccammond-teen-vogue-editor-uproar-tweets
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