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Jody Plummer

Ms. Dewey

ENG 101

8 April 2023

Cancel Culture: The Brainwashing of Today’s Society

Cancel culture has been around for ages and is known for canceling or no longer

supporting a person, group, or company because of something said or done. When it is done with

pure intentions, it can be labeled “call out” culture and can be an immensely powerful tool. Done

with spiteful intent, it can be extremely damaging and unhealthy. The health implications of

being canceled vary from a wide variety of mental issues to some physical issues as well. The

most horrific actions of the one being canceled can lead to suicide as a result. Some cancelers

cross the line between holding a person liable for words said or actions done to bullying and

harassment, and social media plays a humongous role. Whether it is an actor, musician,

politician, or a company, it does not give anyone the right to become a judge, juror, and

executioner. A person might think they are on the side of righteousness when canceling

someone, but instead they are being petty, malicious, and downright evil by isolating and

shunning someone intead of having them be accountable for their wrong doings.

When the Covid-19 pandemic took everyone by surprise and ripped through everyone’s

family, cancel culture also ran rampant. Dholakia stated that ”no other social phenomenon has

been as widely written about, discussed, and argued over as this culture” (Dholakia). The

canceler may feel anger, outrage, and even fear leading to the cancellation of another person. But

does this give the canceler the right or the means to call out another person? You could have

made the wrong judgment more than a decade ago, but it can still be used against you today.

“The social media mob takes no prisoners” (Sadler). The one being canceled can be dragged
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through the mud, or humiliated and the canceler will not even bat an eye, or skip a beat. You are

the target and there is no stopping this culture, or is there?

Throughout the many years, and a great example of cancelling is the damage it causes to

the one being canceled. Utpal Dholakia stated in the article “What Is Cancel Culture?” “Many

psychology researchers view cancel culture as synonymous with social media activism”

(Dholakia). Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and Instagram all have their

hands dirty in this phenomenon. Long-gone are the days of handling a dispute, argument, or any

issue face-to-face. But now you can sit in your mom and dad’s basement and bully or incite

violence whenever you want to with the touch of a button. As Lindsey Toler said “While the one

doing the cancelling is made to look like the victim, it leaves the one being cancelled to feel

ostracized, socially isolated, and lonely with feelings associated to anxiety, depression, and

suicide” (Toler). Becoming a bystander to the recurring act of canceling is not forgiving either

because it can cause a person to hold in their feelings of guilt and not voice their opinions which

in turn, infringes upon their right to free speech. Whitehead quoted his friend and free speech

purist Nat Hentoff as declaring “Free speech to me not to thee” (Whitehead). This means that the

canceller can exercise his or her right to free speech by denying the one being canceled of their

rights. But who gives these rights and who can take them away when someone feels high and

mighty or superior to another? My answer is no one!

No matter who it is, there is always going to be someone making mistakes and someone

getting canceled. George Carlin, a very vulgar and risqué comedian, referred to the ideology of

this culture as “Political correctness and fascism pretending to be manners” (Whitehead). This

still holds true today with many people and companies getting canceled by disguising it as

activism by a person of higher caliber. This has never been more obvious than when J.K.

Rowlings, Mike Lindell, and Goya foods, just to name a few, became the ones in the line of fire.
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The CEO of My Pillow, Mike Lindell lost nearly 20 retailers after questioning the results of the

Presidential election and gave his support to Donald Trump (Sadler). While his company lost

retailers, his profits soured to amazing heights as supporters for Trump rallied around him and

his business. Another person canceled is J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. She

faced backlash for voicing her opinions that transgender rights would harm woman's rights and

she denounced cancel culture and everything it stood for (Sandler). Rowlings doubled down and

held true to her words, and as a result, people showed up at her home, threatening her and her

entire family. This is just another form of trying to take rights away because she voiced her

beliefs. Another example of this bullying culture is Goya Foods. They were boycotted after

stating that “Trump was a blessing for Hispanic Americans” (Sadler). This attempt to cancel the

entire company backfired and its sales flourished because not everyone in today’s society wants

to be sheep and jump on the bandwagon called cancel culture and neither do I.

Cancel culture can be used for the right reasons and Harvey Weinstein along with the

#metoo movement are probably the best examples. When Hollywood powerhouse Weinstein

was not only disgraced, but he was convicted of “third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal

sexual act” (ProCon.org). In this case, cancel culture gave back the voices of women that

Weinstein took away. Another powerful Hollywood elite canceled was Bill Cosby, who was

“found guilty in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman and accused by more than

fifty other women” (ProCon.org). Once known for being one, if not the most famous television

dad of the 80’s, he became one of cancel culture’s most wanted. These are examples of when

canceling is done for the right reasons and gives the unspoken a voice, and holds the accused

accountable for their transgressions.

Anyone at any time can be canceled for any or no reason at all. Whether you are famous

for good or for bad, the woke hall monitors of social media will find you and try to destroy your
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life and the lives of those around you. Every action you do or every word you say will be put

under a microscope and dissected, to be used against you at their discretion and no one is safe.

To the ones doing the canceling, they think they are saving society. When in fact they are just

further dismantling it for their own selfish, egocentric narcissistic means. You should not

condemn a person without first giving them a chance to make things right. Noone is perfect, not

one person walking on this earth is God and everyone should have a chance to fix and learn from

their mistakes. The adverse effects of cancel culture are harmful, and detrimental to life as we

know it.
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Works Cited

Whitehead, John W., “Cancel Culture’s War on Free Speech,” The Future of Freedom

Foundation, FFF.org, January 19, 2022

ProCon.org, "Cancel Culture – Top 3 Pros and Cons." ProCon.org. 20 Jan. 2022,

www.procon.org/headlines/is-cancel-culture-or-callout-culture-good-for-society

Sadler, Kelly “Top 10 Recent Examples of Cancel Culture,” The Washington Times,

February 16, 2021

Toler, Lindsey, “The Mental Health Effects of Cancel Culture.” Mental Health A-Z,

April 14, 2022

Utpal Dholakia Ph.D., “What Is Cancel Culture? Canceling is a complex individual act

that spreads to groups and can cause harm.” Psychology Today,

Psychologytoday.com, July 27, 202