Slaughtered Social Credit

            People make mistakes, but if they own up to their flaws, they will have a chance of making things right. Instead, they are socially slaughtered for the error they made in the past, having their lives threatened regardless of who they are now. This is cancel culture. It is when someone’s reputation is ruined because of other peoples’ assumptions and expectations of them. It is when someone’s entire life is jeopardized because they simply had an opinion that others dislike. Cancel culture is harmful to society, because it robs someone of an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Simply sharing an opinion can cause someone’s reputation to be ruined, ostracized from society, and have their entire businesses boycotted.

            Humor is commonly used by influencers to gain an audience. In the past, influencers usually display humor using pranks or jeering. During the present, the audience may recall these attempts at humor made by the influencers, and deem them appalling or unacceptable, which, “instead of encouraging development, cancel culture can potentially ruin an influencer’s reputation over dated incidents and humor that was socially acceptable at the time” (Krishnan). Maadhu Krishnan, Although the influencer displayed these acts during a time where it was acceptable, the audience takes those actions into an era in which it is considered appalling and uses it to define the influencer. The fact that the influencer no longer makes these attempts at humor suggests that they realize how it harms the society, yet the audience takes his mistakes and uses it to ruin their reputation regardless of who they are now. Cancel culture is not only capable of socially slaughtering a victim, but it can completely ostracize them from the community.

            Cancelling someone can not only ruin the victim’s reputation, but can also negatively affect their psychological state. Cancelling can often turn into bullying, and could easily make someone feel “socially isolated and lonely, increasing depression and anxiety rates.” Becoming ostracized from the community “essentially robs you from the opportunity to learn and grow from your mistakes and insensitivities” (Toler). Lindsey Toler, a public health professional with over a decade of experience writing and editing health and science communications, suggests that cancel culture causes not only remorse for the victim, but it completely prevents the victim from learning from their mistakes and owning up to them. Cancel culture is a practice that promotes the idea of how one mistake defines someone’s life, and how they could never own up to that mistake regardless of how much they have changed. This practice could even go as far to ravaging entire businesses.

            Stephen Ross, the founder of the companies Equinox and SoulCycle, held a fundraiser for president Trump. President Trump was not very well supported, and once Stephen Ross implied that he favors president Trump, his companies, Equinox and SoulCycle were boycotted: “A seemingly progressive company supporting what many liberals consider to be the most socially- regressive administration in modern history immediately angered a large segment of the population” (Beres). A multi-faceted author and media expert, and head of Content Marketing Community at Centered and co-host of Conspirituality, Derek Beres accentuates how because of how St ephen Ross’s opinion was unpopular, many decided that he was unstable, and therefore avoided his business brands Equinox and SoulCycle. His opinion fell victim of cancel culture, causing his entire companies to be boycotted and ravaged. Cancel culture is a lethal phenomenon that is able to devastate any acquired target.

            Cancel culture is devastating to the society. Cancellation causes the victim to be socially slaughtered, having their entire lives jeopardized because of a mistake they made or an opinion they had, have, or might have in the future. This practice is extremely harmful to the community, with it being able to ruin the target’s reputation, ostracized from society, and even devastate their businesses and companies. Cancel culture is highly damaging to society, and should never be promoted.

MLA Citations

The Cons of Cancel Culture, Maadhu Krishnan, White Station Scroll, November 21, 2020,

            whitestationscroll.net/5966/opinion/the-cons-of-cancel-culture/

The Mental Health Effects of Cancel Culture, Lindsey Toler, verywellmind.com/the-mental-health-effects-of-cancel-culture-5119201

Equinox and the Dangers of Cancel Culture, Derek Beres, bigthink.com/the-present/equinox-stephen-ross/