Ostracism is when someone is forced out of professional and social circles, aka Cancel Culture. What is Cancel Culture exactly? When a person does something degrading, offensive, racist, sexist, dehumanizing, and we remove them from a position, role, or status.
So, what we are actually referring to is, ACCOUNTABILITY. You know, being held responsible for your own actions.
Let’s dive a bit deeper into this. What Cancel Culture really craves is for people who don’t consider anyone else’s feelings but their own to face the repercussions. If Johnny Depp did all of those horrible things to Amber Heard, why should we go see his films? In turn, if Amber Heard did all of those horrible things to Johnny Depp, why shouldn’t she be removed from Aquaman?
See, the ideal shines a harsh light on the people who look up to someone with a presence or someone with a reputation that you’re not perfect or as great as you portray yourself to be.
So, here’s an idea. What if we restructured the approach to these prominent figures, who do the unforgivable, and start calling it “Accountability Culture. “
Yes, it’s boring. But it should be. Why are we praising the beautiful lie? We should be tired, to the point of being bored with another person in power taking advantage of their position. Looking at you, Governor Cuomo.
The rude awakening isn’t that cancel culture exists, it’s that people are defending (looking at you too, Republicans) as to why the ideal shouldn’t exist. Why if someone hurts someone else should there be an expiration date?
I get there are many people who hate to have their tiny bubbles burst. But it’s somewhat disturbing that they will choose to continue to support abusive men and women even after they know the Artist, Musician, Actor, Director is a child molester, racist, sexist, white supremacist. Hi, Woody.
ALSO READ: Britney’s mental health is damaged and it’s our fault
In retrospect, “Accountability Culture” is way overdue. And now, Dr Seuss is in the spotlight. Here we have the words of a racist storyteller and again, people do not want to change their childhood memories and replace them with the truth. And consider Governor Andrew Cuomo is now facing multiple charges by women who experienced sexual harassment by him.
And he won’t resign.
There is no time stamp on accountability, because if there was, therapy wouldn’t exist today.
The only people who are uncomfortable with Cancel Culture are the people who want to be attached to the role models they’ve created in their heads. No, this is not about freedom of speech, showcasing your authentic self, or having your own opinion.
No. It will never be okay to be racist, or politically incorrect, say/do things that affect so many people and still remain in a position where you have a platform.
History has shown us what we get every time we don’t hold people accountable and continue to give them their “freedom of speech” while overlooking the red flags, we get Right-Wing Extremists, Conspiracy Theorists, the U.S. Capitol Violent Attack, Hitler, Charles Manson, and Donald J. Trump.
And f*ckin hell, Pizza Gate.
Yes, bit extreme. However, overlooking the other cases like; Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Lea Michelle, J.K. Rowling, Johnny Depp and R. Kelly often lead to forgiveness and flexibility we have towards bad behavior.
The only real cancellations we have truly seen up until now are the women and men who have faced abuse and stood up for themselves. Those are ones who no longer have a career because they have been silenced while defending themselves.
This is not about suppressing freedom of speech. It’s about taking back some of the privilege from The Privileged. This is about no longer dismissing bad behavior or actions. It’s about holding everyone to the same standard of “accountability” that Cancel Culture represents. This means removing special treatment because of your reputation, who you are and what you do.
Reputation versus Integrity. Your Reputation is what everybody thinks they know about you, but your integrity is what you know about yourself.
Jessica Velle reports on entertainment, politics, social media and stories relevant to the Latinx community. She can be reached at Jessica@reel360.com.
