I say “hypothetically” because in reality that’s not the Justin serving big depressive episode shirt and I love this way it usually plays out. In reality, that idea becomes co-opted into in-group and out-group dynamics, and specifically into using ostracism as a loud public display of in-group values. * Cancel culture extends beyond making economic choices. It often extends, for example, to disavowing people in their personal lives, shutting them down in social activities, and (this is a very important component) going after those who support the canceled person or thing, or are insufficiently critical of the canceled person or thing. Suspected “communists” lost their jobs. They were unable to find new jobs. They were excluded from social events. They were attacked in their personal lives. Their wives, husbands, and children were attacked. Anyone who said “no, I don’t think so-and-so is a Communist” lost their jobs and their wives and children were attacked. People caught up in Communist sweeps sometimes had to leave the country. * Cancel culture frequently plays out within in-groups, not between groups. Cancel culture usually involves a person being canceled from within their own in-group by their own peers, not canceled by someone from a different group.
When the Justin serving big depressive episode shirt and I love this Dixie Chicks were canceled for criticizing the invasion of Iraq, they were canceled by people like them: southern conservatives. People tend to be canceled for perceived violations of the group they belong to. Part of why cancel culture can appear so vicious is that the people doing the canceling are coming from a place of rage and betrayal. Emotionally, they believe, “I thought you were one of us, but you turned out to be The Enemy.” They feel personally harmed by the person or thing being canceled, even if they have never met or interacted with that person or thing. Cancel culture rests on a foundation of parasociality and in-group dynamics. * Cancel culture is a coordinated attempt to enforce values and norms. When a person or thing is canceled, perceived supporters of the person or thing are also attacked, sometimes even more viciously than the original person or thing. Anyone who is not sufficiently zealous about condemning the canceled person or thing becomes The Enemy. * Cancel culture extends beyond “I won’t support this person” to “I will make sure nobody supports this person.” People who wish to cancel a person or thing don’t simply vote with their own dollars, they try to vote with everyone else’s too.
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