Cancel Culture and Why It Sucks

Of course cancel culture has been a thing on the internet lately. With world wide trending topics geared toward celebrities and pop culture icons identified with hashtags such as #_______IsOverParty. Just for the internet to forget about that person and what they did by next Tuesday.

The day I got the inspiration to write this, I saw a cancellation happen right in front of my eyes on my Twitter feed by Twenty One Pilots fans. The clique canceling their very own front man, Tyler Joseph.

For what reason? A, in my opinion, distasteful joke. For months fans of the Twenty One Pilots have been asking, practically begging, for Tyler to speak up on the BLM movement and spread awareness. They want him to use his large platform to inform his followers that he has gained over the bands rise to the top of the charts in many instances.

To me, it’s much like begging someone to love you back. Wouldn’t you want them to do that without having to beg? Wouldn’t you want your favorite celebrities, musicians and pop culture icons to want to spread awareness about human rights, genuinely? If fans have to beg and beg, once they do say something, is it going to be genuinely from the heart? Or are they just saying it to stop the angry mob attacking them on social media?

If a celebrity I follow or like doesn’t speak up about something important going on in the world, I don’t get angry. I don’t tweet at them. I don’t comment on their instagram post. What I do is I take note. Not everyone has the same experiences as you or I. Not everyone has the will to learn about the things that don’t affect them. As much as I wish there were more open minded and open hearted people out there, some people refuse to see the bad things that don’t affect them.

I’m not here to shame Tyler or be on his side. I’ve been a fan of 21p since Vessels was released, so 2013. I’ve photographed 21p in November of 2013 at the House of Blues in Anaheim. I’m here to talk about cancel culture as a whole.

Most recently Chris Pratt has been canceled again for the umteenth time. I seriously cannot keep track of how many times Pratt has been canceled. People cancel someone then forget in 2-5 business days. Make it make sense.

I think most of the time people forget that celebrities and public figures are human beings just like you and me. Before you start pointing fingers and attacking people for things they’ve done or said, think about all the things you’ve done. If your life was under a microscope, would you come out on the other side unscathed?

The thing with cancel culture is that no matter what, stans will fight for their faves. There will always be people supporting these public figures. So in the end, cancel culture won’t matter. There will never be a way to actually “cancel” someone in the public eye. So, next time you see someone being canceled online, just know that the cancelation won’t matter by next week.