Ahh cancel culture. The cool new thing where someone in the public eye does something you disagree with, so you have to boycott them, their products/services, everything they stand for, oh and make everyone you know do so as well. Don’t ya just love it?
Some examples… Nike supports Colin Kaepernick, so I’m going to quit wearing their brand, and you should, too. It came out that this rapper abused this actress, so if you still listen to his music, you are a horrible person. This YouTuber tweeted some offensive language 3 years ago, so you have to quit watching his videos. The list could go on and on.
I am so not about that life. First of all, everybody messes up. Everybody has different opinions. Everybody is a flawed, sinful human being. We are not perfect and I don’t think we should expect perfection from anyone. The second we mess up, or have an opinion different from yours, should we be “canceled”? Should we be forever boycotted and insulted and isolated? I don’t think so.
If you have a very strong opinion against a person or a company, to the point where you don’t want to partake in what they’re offering, that is fine. You have that right and you are allowed to spend your time and money however you wish. However, if you start pushing your opinion onto others, expecting them to do the same, that becomes a problem. You can’t expect every single person to share your beliefs and act in the way you would. We may not love Colin Kaepernick, but we love Nike. And that should be okay. They are not mutually exclusive. Also, if someone really does mess up and leads you to a point to want to “cancel” them, that does not mean they have fallen so far that they cannot be forgiven or redeemed.
One big example of this is John Crist. He is a Christian comedian and social media star. Last year, some dark secrets of his got leaked and it became a big deal. People wanted to “cancel” him. Unfollow him on social media, don’t watch his videos or attend his events, don’t even mention his name. Some even went so far as to comment horrible things on his account. I believe John did the right thing by getting off social media. He didn’t immediately come back trying to justify or reason his way out of trouble. He didn’t deny anything. He just disappeared. Which was probably good for him in more ways than one. After like 9 months or so of hearing nothing from him, he came back on social media with a video saying he had been away at a treatment facility, he spent time offline, he worked on himself and he prayed a lot and feels he’s in a good place now. He didn’t fight the claims against him. He didn’t even give them a name. He didn’t try to ignore them or sweep them under the rug, either. He apologized, explained that he had a real problem and that he was working to fix it. He thanked everyone for their kind words and forgiveness, so luckily there were comments like that on his social media as well. And now, he’s back making people laugh and creating wholesome content for the online community. And I just think that’s awesome. He handled the situation well, he admitted he had made some mistakes, he said he had taken some solid time to work on them and he was still trying to fix things. He didn’t place blame on others or act like it wasn’t a big deal. But he also didn’t want to have to stay off the internet and give up on his career and his calling in life just because he’s an imperfect human being. And for the most part, his audience was loving and forgiving and more than okay with that. (By the way, his first comedy video after he came back was a hilarious take on cancel culture, so you should check that out.)
So yes, I think it’s important to stand up for your beliefs and not to support businesses or people who really grind your gears, but I don’t think it’s okay to completely “cancel” someone because you have different opinions or because they messed up. We are all going to mess up, but the people in the public eye have higher standards we set for them, so it’s hard. I encourage you to be forgiving of those who are different and imperfect, and don’t expect everyone around you to stand on your soapbox when you have one. It’s all going to be okay.
Oh also, cancel culture doesn’t affect the president. Biden was (most likely) elected into that position and he will hold it. We as Christians are called to respect him and his authority, whether we agree with him or not. He is projected to be our president-elect and we need to honor that. Just sayin.
I am trying to build up a platform for my book proposal, and I would greatly appreciate your support. If you like what you read, share it with your friends. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @kdsubcreations. Subscribe to my email list to receive monthly emails including blog highlights, book recommendations, and updates on my writing projects. Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me.
Keela Dee Subcreations 
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