Cancel culture

[Hugh]

In another thread there was a few comments that got me thinking about something that Graham Norton said.

“I think [‘cancel culture’] is the wrong word,” he continued. “I think the word should be accountability.”

I think that I might be alone in thinking that when some celebrity person says something that is either racist, homophobic, sexist or something else, the celeb, comedian goes and says that they have been cancelled, when they have just been held accountable.

[Jwb52z]

Yes, you're right. One of the reasons we end up with phrases like "cancel culture" is that the people creating them don't have the already existing vocabulary, or at least don't familiarize themselves with it enough to use it, so they go with the only word they know that's closest to what they mean. I'd wager that it was an American who came up with the term "cancel culture". I think Brits would have more likely used "accountability" or "held accountable".

[Kev]

I'd wager that it was an American who came up with the term "cancel culture". I think Brits would have more likely used "accountability" or "held accountable".

And also "woke". I hate that fucking word!

[Parsifal]

I'd wager that it was an American who came up with the term "cancel culture".

The first person whom I read about using that term was Donald Trump Jr. (who in my opinion is even worse than his father).

[Ollie2UK]

When you look at some of the people who claim to have been cancelled - JK Rowling, Piers Morgan, Kanye West, Laurence Fox, John Cleese etc - they're pretty much un-cancellable anyway. They all still have platforms to spout their bullshit, all that's happened is a large number of people have publicly disagreed with them and they can't handle it.

You're right, Hugh, and so is Graham Norton - it's the accountability they're objecting to.

[Hugh]

Armie Hammer got cancelled. Kevin Spacey got cancelled. Both for reasons that are justifiable.

John Cheese, JK Rowling and others - it's accountability, not cancelled. Yous have said something that isn't acceptable today.
Like the comedians before the alternative comedy scene came along in the 80's

[Jwb52z]

I'd wager that it was an American who came up with the term "cancel culture". I think Brits would have more likely used "accountability" or "held accountable".

And also "woke". I hate that fucking word!

Woke was great until the right-wing poisoned it.

[MintyRox]

I'd wager that it was an American who came up with the term "cancel culture". I think Brits would have more likely used "accountability" or "held accountable".

And also "woke". I hate that fucking word!

Woke was great until the right-wing poisoned it.

Like how 'do gooder' became a derogatory term?  How is doing good a negative trait, ever?

[Jwb52z]

I honestly don't know if the right-wing in the UK are anywhere near as awful as the right-wing in the US, but "doing good" became "bad" in the US when the rich could use it as an insult, a synonym for weakness, or, in the case of a religious zealot right-wing person, something evil to any Biblical literalist. It frequently converges with toxic masculinity and, I would guess, TERFs. I could be wrong about that last bit though. It's just so far gone in the US because there's no current hope for punishing anyone for anything they say that's awful, even if it should be an obvious case of incitement. That in itself all goes back into the whole insane mindset that says, "I shouldn't have to be limited by what anyone else does", which allows GOP politicians to never have to do anything like implementing proper gun restrictions with a little bit of literalism and purposely ignoring any ideas they don't like that could ever make them wrong. It's a giant pile of disaster and crazy that doesn't seem likely to ever change and it just snowballs.

[Kev]

TERFs

What the hell is that?

[ladsnet]

I think its grass what you buy at the Garden Centre

[MintyRox]

trans-exclusionary radical feminist

[Kev]

trans-exclusionary radical feminist

Thank you for replying.

[Bangle1]

trans-exclusionary radical feminist

Dunno how I never knew what TERF actually stood for, didn't realise it was gender specific and only women could be called it.

[MintyRox]

Men can be TERFs too - feminists are people who support female rights, so can be men or women, or non-binary etc. TERFs are feminists who specifically exclude trans females from their feminism beliefs, instead insisting that trans women are not women.

[Hugh]

Don't TERFs think the worst about people who are trans? That people who are trans are going to go into womens spaces and do nasty things?


Note: I do not have any problem with anyone who is trans.

[Jwb52z]

trans-exclusionary radical feminist

Thank you for getting to that while I wasn't here to say it.

[RubySmile]

Anyone who claims to be cancelled almost always deserves to not be listened to!

[MintyRox]

Anyone who claims to be cancelled almost always deserves to not be listened to!

If a person had genuinely been 'cancelled' they wouldn't have a platform or audience to tell - no-one would be listening.  It's definitely a made up phenomenon for people who enjoy the limelight, who then say or do something that gets the wrong kind of attention.  They want the eyeballs on them until they get called out for their actions.

[Hugh]

Anyone who says that they have been cancelled, means that they have said something offensive and got called out.

Anyone complaining about being cancelled are people who want to say whatever they want, without getting punished for it.