In his article, Ta-Nehisi Coates (2019) writes about the “cancel culture” that existed for a long time but became popular in the last few years. As an example, he takes the cancellation of Colin Kaepernick, an American football player, and civil rights activist. The main idea of the article is to demonstrate the hostility of people towards those who share different ideologies that do not even cause harm.
In the past, the cancel culture aimed to deprive the power of those who overuse it and give voice to those who do not have it. However, today, it changed its direction to banning and shaming people who have different views and beliefs through social media. The “cancel culture” is no longer concerned with the weapon, but with the people who want to possess it. Moreover, not all cancellation works equally for people. For example, after Christine Blasey Ford accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, she started receiving threats and was forced to leave her home. However, a stand-up comic Dave Chappelle being accused of transphobia, earned a living from his show on Netflix.
Colin Kaepernick offended the NFL and its fans by not standing while the national anthem was playing. He substantiated his actions by telling that he is not going to be a patriot of the country in which there is racism, abuse, and inequality. It seemed that his decision was valid, but Kaepernick’s enemies, among who was Donald Trump, decided otherwise. Trump ordered the footballer’s cancellation just like he did with Hilary Clinton and Ilhan Omar. Now the NFL is trying to prevent Kaepernick from continuing his career.
To conclude, this article examined the effect of cancel culture on today’s society. The cancellation no longer benefits powerless, but it gives an advantage to those who overuse it. It worked in politicians’ favor against Colin Kaepernick, who was protecting human rights. As a result of Kaepernick’s protests, NFL stood in the way of his attempts to continue his career. However, he does not fight with the cancellation, but with the system, which allows shooting people or limit the freedom of speech.
References
Coates, T. (2019). Ta-Nehisi Coates: The cancellation of Colin Kaepernick. The New York Times.