Thoughts About Canceling 05/01/21

As a general rule, the more I see someone portraying themselves as harmless online, the more I assume they rape. It might not be totally fair, as I’m sure there are people out there who are just kind of good, but good people largely keep that shit to themselves…because they’re good.

The relentless scramble to cut people off and express one’s own nobility is directly tied to a sense of guilt and fear. And why wouldn’t it be? Once you’ve been a part of an online mob, once you’ve seen what it can do, the last thing you’d want would be to land yourself in its crosshairs. And so the ones who signal the most are the ones with the most to lose, the ones who are desperately projecting their own insecurities and guilt on others. They’re saying, “Whatever you do, don’t look at me. Don’t pay attention to my past.”

It’s pretty transparent.

People say that cancel culture doesn’t exist, and yet they clearly fear it. Those who make the claim are invited to say some wild shit online. Think of the craziest, most offensive thing you can think of. Go post it. If cancel culture doesn’t exist, then you’ll be fine.

It’s downplayed, because in addition to deflecting from their own closet full of skeletons, the destruction of people, the exile and burning down of their lives and opportunities, comes with a sense of guilt (to those who are not actual sociopaths [which many of them are]). It feels bad to admit that real people get steamrolled by this thing. Sure, some (most?) of them are rich, or powerful, or whatever…but a lot of them are not. You just don’t see that happening.

What do I mean by this? Well, some talk show host might get canceled for saying that trans people aren’t real or some dumb shit. They’ll lose ad revenue, weather a storm of hate, and continue to make tons of money from the losers who think what they said was awesome. No big deal, right?

The problem is that this strategy, this way of life, where you’re constantly weeding out the dissidents and purifying the in-group, it bleeds into regular people’s everyday lives. Friends are abandoning friends. Atomized and isolated individuals are having their social circles choked off because the group is mimicking the behaviors of the culture at large. As above, so below.

So there’s this disingenuous thing happening where we’re saying “oh boo hoo, some rich fuck lost an advertiser,” without considering the bleed effects into our own lives. Once again, we push the responsibility away from our actions, leaving us pure, just, or at the very least, just having a goof.

Meanwhile, our own closet grows denser and denser with skeletons, forcing us to lash out more and more.

It’s a bit of a spiral.

See you tomorrow.