“We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than legality within our rules of, is this recording this work eligible based on date and other criteria.”
-Harvey Mason, Jr.
#freespeechmatters 02.12.2021
Naysayers of cancel culture’s existence often point at their targets’ successes after the fact as evidence that the culture itself is just a conservative talking point. Recently, Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. received Grammy nominations for their stand-up comedy. Marilyn Manson was also nominated for Album of the Year and Best Rap Song for his contributions to Ye’s “Jail pt. 2” track on his latest album “Donda.”
According to Recording Academy President and CEO Harvey Mason, Jr., submitted recordings were not judged on an artist’s past or criminal history, but instead on the whether they met the criteria and the quality of the content. With these standards being the only ones considered, it’s only natural that talented individuals like the aforementioned above are at least nominated for their contributions to the arts.
Those who suggest that cancel culture “doesn’t exist” point to these incidences as evidence, failing to realize that they, themselves, may be responsible for the culture’s continuing failures. The mob used to be more careful when choosing their next victims. They weren’t constantly on attack; they targeted people who were arguably using their power irresponsibly and gained national attention by exposing facts against them. It wasn’t a partisan effort. It was an effort to remove terrible people from the spotlight. They pushed to hold people accountable that otherwise would not be held accountable by their fellow elites.
Now, cancel culture targets people for having opinions. They viciously attack people that don’t conform to the national narrative or repeat back the dictated script. They expect the masses to look at Dave Chappelle’s jokes in the same way we viewed the accusations against Kevin Spacey. They want you to think it’s the end of the world that Kevin Hart made an anti-gay joke on Twitter over a decade ago and expect you to never watch any of his specials or movies again.
By over-exaggerating situations where a person doesn’t deserve crucified by the public, cancel culture started losing their credibility. When they scream, we take them less seriously. We know everybody has demons, and many of us understand and respect at least some level of privacy. Marilyn Manson will never have the career he once had even if he’s found not guilty for all the sexual allegations against him. Louis C.K. was on his way to being one of the greatest comedians of all time before he admitted to masturbating in a hotel room in front of two female comedians, who later said they felt they were being taken advantage of. Now, it's controversial that he's even being nominated for an award.
Cancel culture used to hold people accountable for actions that weren’t being addressed at the top. Now, it’s an attack on an ideology. If you don’t conform, it has become routine for character assassinations to follow. This pattern has played on repeat for the past five years, and people are growing aware. The impact the culture once had has diminished as a result of their abuse of power. Cancel culture still exists, it just doesn’t have the effect it once had because we the people are waking up.
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