Cancel Culture
No, YOU’RE Canceled
Cool Down Gen Z
Gen Z needs to pick its battles. What happens when you get canceled anyway? Do you get a letter in the mail from Gen Z saying, ‘sorry, you offended us, you no longer exist.’? No, but the canceled still issue their apologies and skulk off into the shadows.
Outcries to cancel celebrities who use derogatory, racist, and sexist comments are not a new thing. A lot of the times, they are justified, but many times they are not. Two of the latest artists under fire are Eminem and Dr. Seuss. I never thought those two would be mentioned in the same sentence. There you go. Eminem has garnered the calls based on Gen Z’s response on Tic Tok to his song with Rihanna, ‘I Love the way you lie.’ Dr. Suess is receiving posthumous flack (deserved, in my opinion) for the occurrence of racist aspects to some of his books.
Guess what? There’s also a thing called ‘context’ and another thing called ‘intent.’
Taking something out of where it originated and presenting it by itself on its own merits alone seems to be the way of the world, at least to determine what is socially acceptable. Many things expressed can be taken out of context, out of which they mean something totally different. There once was a time when people were not so conscious of such thoughts.
I think the recalling of Seuss’s books with racist undertones is appropriate. You’re not going to do anything about those copies already out there just like you are not going to change how those book owners talk to their kids about racism if they do at all. But calls to cancel Seuss outright are ridiculous. Was he a known racist? In other words, was his intent as a person and/or an artist to openly pursue and promote a racist agenda…no.
Then there’s Eminem. I mean, are we really worried about him? I think he can take care of himself. I think he is the only person who can cancel the cancel culture. That said, I love the response from Eminem fans, who say Eminem has far worse lyrics than those found in the duet with Rihanna.
Stop canceling people over their art. Instead, look at the context and the intent. Then, you just don’t consume what offends you.