Miscellaneous (한 + EN)
The 'New' Activism
Author
chloebringsjoy
Date
2019-11-02 11:45
Views
674
Canceling someone refers to shaming a public figure for alleged wrongdoing, and advocating for them to lose access to their platform. It is a group effort, and it usually plays out these days on social media — although similar boycott campaigns predate Twitter hashtags.
Cancel culture can refer to wildly different things, depending on whom you ask. Some people denounce it, pointing to instances of mob behavior and online infighting, or to situations where a career is jeopardized because of a bad tweet someone made as a teen.
But it also can be used to describe how traditionally underrepresented and oppressed groups harness the Internet and social media to hold powerful people accountable when institutions won’t. That’s been the case with the #MeToo movement, the wave of many, credible accusations of sexual misconduct against powerful figures in various industries following the New York Times’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein.
.... Being canceled happens when there is a mismatch between the thing someone said or did, and the ethical expectations of their audience. Those who face consequences for their past do have an alternative to silence and repentance: They can cater to the fans waiting to champion the canceled as one of their own.
— Ohlheiser, A., & Izadi, E. (Sep 19, 2019). A step-by-step guide to why people can’t stop arguing about ‘cancel culture’. The Washington Post.
“If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself, because, man, you see how woke I was?” he said, drawing laughter from the audience. “I called you out.”
But the act of public shaming on social media, Obama said, is “not activism.”
“That’s not bringing about change,” he said. “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That’s easy to do.”
... “Maybe we can change their minds, but maybe they’ll change ours,” Obama said. “And you can’t do this if you just out of hand disregard what your opponents have to say from the start.”
— Chiu, A. (Oct 31, 2019). ‘He is right on all counts’: Obama finds rare bipartisan support by bashing ‘woke’ shaming. The Washington Post.
Cancel culture can refer to wildly different things, depending on whom you ask. Some people denounce it, pointing to instances of mob behavior and online infighting, or to situations where a career is jeopardized because of a bad tweet someone made as a teen.
But it also can be used to describe how traditionally underrepresented and oppressed groups harness the Internet and social media to hold powerful people accountable when institutions won’t. That’s been the case with the #MeToo movement, the wave of many, credible accusations of sexual misconduct against powerful figures in various industries following the New York Times’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein.
.... Being canceled happens when there is a mismatch between the thing someone said or did, and the ethical expectations of their audience. Those who face consequences for their past do have an alternative to silence and repentance: They can cater to the fans waiting to champion the canceled as one of their own.
— Ohlheiser, A., & Izadi, E. (Sep 19, 2019). A step-by-step guide to why people can’t stop arguing about ‘cancel culture’. The Washington Post.
“If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself, because, man, you see how woke I was?” he said, drawing laughter from the audience. “I called you out.”
But the act of public shaming on social media, Obama said, is “not activism.”
“That’s not bringing about change,” he said. “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far. That’s easy to do.”
... “Maybe we can change their minds, but maybe they’ll change ours,” Obama said. “And you can’t do this if you just out of hand disregard what your opponents have to say from the start.”
— Chiu, A. (Oct 31, 2019). ‘He is right on all counts’: Obama finds rare bipartisan support by bashing ‘woke’ shaming. The Washington Post.