So how far back should accountablility begin?
Went to bed quite early and found myself awake at the middle of the night.
Typical life of a short sleeper, coupled with the discomfort of having a piece of my lunch still lodged somewhere in the crevices of my teeth.
After doing one or two things, I came online and saw an article on huff post.
It was about a newly appointed 27 year old, teen vogue editor stepping down even before her first day at work.
Naturally, my interest piqued.
I read the article, and it was summarily about her issuing an apology for some of the things she tweeted, when she was a teenager.
I am not going into any details about its context, but in today’s world, it will be quite damaging.
As always, I find the comment section of articles quite entertaining, and this lived up to expectation.
One comment that caught my attention, was from a guy who commented on being happy that there was no twitter and social media in his days, so whatever dumb thoughts he had, stayed on the inside of his circle or on his flip phone.
I thought to myself, that in this present time, that can also be dangerous because, someone can screenshot a private text and post it on the Internet without your knowledge.
‘Big Brother’ is always watching.
Another person commented that back in the day, when you misbehaved at school, teachers would often threaten you and say the stuff you are doing, will get on your permanent record.
Thankfully, those records are not as permanent as the Internet is presently.
Everything you post online stays online.
The Internet is great, but it can be a very harsh unforgiving place.
God forbid, that at the point when I finally get to reach the top of my career, someone digs up a stupid tweet of mine.
I have seen this happen time and time again.
Last two years, it was Kevin Hart with the grammy’s.
Is cancel culture ok? Don’t people, grow and change? Do we have to be perfect all the time? Shouldn’t we be given the opportunity and grace to learn, unlearn and re-learn?
Is cancel culture also applicable to countries and organizations too, because then we would be cancelling whole countries, for the part they played in slave trade and other atrocities they commited, and the part many of them still play in fueling crises and chaos in a lot of places.
Is it only certain people that suffer the effects of cancel culture, because I have also seen some powerful people keep their positions and even get promoted inspite of some of the recorded damaging things they have said at one point in their lives.
I know that no one is irreplaceable, but that does not stop me from thinking about the impact she would have made at teen vogue, and how it is completely overshadowed by the mistakes of her youth, that she might have probably even forgotten about.
This is not a defense of what she has done, but I believe people should be given second chances.
I know personally, that as I have grown, many of my thoughts and outlook on life has changed and become better refined.
Even opinions I still hold on to, I have found better ways to present them and it is still an ongoing growth process.
If she was still tweeting and posting the same way today, then I believe that would have been a problem.
We should accept people’s apology for the mistakes they made in the past and not stop them from bringing their experiences and expertise into things.
Many of whom have worked so hard to get to that point.
This should not take away from holding people accountable and does not justify people doing stupid things, but when there is an obvious reason to believe that there has been a change and growth has occurred, things should be seen differently.
I believe it is important to accord people the grace we will like to enjoy, and to also know that anybody great has done something stupid.
It is so easy to offend these days. If we were all bringing out the dirty stuff in our closets, then we would all be cancelled.
Great and engaging post, Naomi!
Cancel culture is quite an interesting topic. It is, however, sometimes difficult to feel sympathy for some people when they eventually get cancelled. As you’ve pointed out, cancel culture is usually one-sided, and it clearly has been used as a weapon against conservatives to a very large extent. A lot of people who go online to call for others to be canceled, thereby fostering that toxic and unrealistic practice, do so being unaware that it’s a dragon they are helping feed which is almost guaranteed to come for them in the future. Let me give one or two examples. When Kyle Kushov had his admission to Harvard university revoked because of some things he said in the past (similar to the ones said by this Teen Vogue editor), most Leftists (basically all of the mainstream media, entertainment, etc, of which Teen Vogue is a leading voice among youngsters) joined to pile on him as an evil and bad person. When Nick Sandman had his run-in with those Native Americans, the same thing happened, even though, in his case, he was totally innocent. It’s great to hear that they (CNN and co.) are paying him heftily for that now.
My point is this: the Left loves to cancel others, but cries foul when it gets canceled. Or maybe it is individuals on the Left who are yet to realize its self-destructive nature.
Sorry for the rant, lol. Just thought to contribute my fifty kobo. Oh, and on the point of powerful people not getting canceled, it depends too o. Once you become dispensable, you become cancelable. And there’s always PLENTY to cancel powerful people on.
Thank for you contribution. It is a lot of things you unpacked here. Your rant is duly appreciated. Once you become dispensable you become cancelable, so the key is to remain with power. I guess that is why those in authority often find it hard to relinquish control, because of their privilege’s and the fear of facing some consequences