The Cancel Culture is Unreasonable
/By: Joel E. Gordon
Cancel culture is the practice of withdrawing support for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered offensive or objectionable. When a person is canceled, they are no longer supported publicly.
The goal of the cancel culture is often to try to take away an individual’s, organization’s or a culture’s public platform and power. Here are some examples of how this is being done:
Amid the debate over America’s monuments, numerous statues of figures with historical significance have been destroyed or removed to appease the cancel culture crowd. Defacing, vandalizing, relocating or removing public memorials are one of the significant manifestations of the cancel culture that seeks to punish individuals for past actions or views ranging from unjust to merely out of step with certain views of today.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA). The lawsuit seeks to do away with the gun rights political advocacy group because of what she alleges were “years of illegal self-dealings” that bankrolled a “lavish lifestyle” for the group’s leadership using the organization’s funds for personal gain. This is used as justification for abolition of the entire organization which supports Second Amendment rights.
The Seattle City Council’s Budget Committee passed a series of amendments cutting the budget for the Seattle Police Department. One of the ways they’re saving money is to significantly cut the salary of Police Chief Carmen Best, Seattle’s first black female police chief, signaling their lack of support for her. On efforts to defund the police and reduce personnel, Chief Best has said, “The idea that we’ve worked so hard to make sure our department was diverse, that reflects the community that we serve, to just turn that all on a dime and hack it off, without having a plan in place to move forward, is highly distressful to me.” As a result, Chief Best tendered her resignation.
A mural at George Washington High School in San Francisco depicted scenes of slavery and of violence against Native Americans. The artist, named Victor Arnautoff, wasn't celebrating those things. Quite the opposite: He wanted to expose America's complicity in those crimes. Nonetheless, it offended some progressives who thought high school students might be triggered by the truth, so the school decided to get rid of it.
Less than 48 hours after a valuable, multi-purpose vehicle was utilized in rescues during tropical storm flooding, the administration in Upper Darby Delaware decided to remove this asset never to be used by the Upper Darby Police Department again. This short-sighted decision by elected officials is another example of politicians being swept away by the cancel culture in defiance of public safety and common sense.
The Pushback
Robert Unanue, the CEO of Goya, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, was targeted by the cancel culture mentality. After Unanue said we were all “truly blessed … to have a leader like President Trump,” social media erupted with negative reactions accompanied by pictures of Goya products in the trash, along with oaths to never buy these products again. In spite of the calls for a boycott, Goya sales have reportedly surged of late.
The popular grocery chain, Trader Joe's, famous for its organic, gourmet and imported foods, came in for some unwelcome criticism recently when The New York Times, followed by other news outlets, focused attention on a petition condemning Trader Joe’s for its “racist branding and packaging.” The petition, launched by a California high school student, declared that the company “perpetuates harmful stereotypes” by labeling some of its international foods with international names. Championing inclusiveness, while defeating the cancel culture, Trader Joe's pushed back against this accusation of racism. Trader Joe's intent was just the opposite in their marketing effort to promote other cultures and present international foods as accessible and appealing. No changes have been made.
If knowledge is power, learning from our past mistakes through an understanding of history, having the right people and equipment in place at critical times and maintaining freedom in support of our rights is important, truthful and just, then the cancel culture surely is senseless and in so many ways detrimental to our future success as a society. The cancel culture now poses a real threat to our intellectual freedom. We, as Americans, must work to retain the right to respectfully disagree while making room for divergent views. Isn't this, in part, a result of the diversity in America that we hold so dear?
As members of the “Great American Melting Pot” we must individually and collectively realize the benefits from our traditions and cultural heritage as we celebrate the American way of life fought for and desired by our ancestors.
