Cancel culture has stripped us of our courage to learn from each other for fear of being publicly shamed for exploring other perspectives, and as a consequence has shut down many spaces for progressive conversation.
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Why am I still sitting here bemoaning the lionization of the NHS? Do they not deserve the applause? Should they not go to the front of the queue? After all, they are at the ‘coal-face’ of this pandemic, exposing themselves day in day out to this virus.
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The royal family has a convoluted existence: their identity is made up of perceived grandeur and a history of pain, power, and political manipulation. According to the official website of the royals, one of the most important roles of the royal family is to help “strengthen national unity and stability.” Whilst this might be the case, it in itself births its own issues.
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These lockdowns have one rule: no guests in your home. Otherwise, go off sis. Do literally whatever you want. Go to a bar and ‘socially distance’. Go for a cheeky Nandos with your Gran - but don’t you DARE go to her house for a cuppa, for fuck’s sake, what’s wrong with you? Do you want your precious Gran to die? For shame! For SHAME!
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Most of us will have a vague three part tier in our heads of the class system: the upper class (who own yachts and brush their teeth with truffle), the middle class (in nice five bedroom suburban houses and a golden retriever), and the working class warehouse workers in council flats. But note the imagery - all the markers are superficial. Types of houses, holidays, food, and accents are things we use to assume someone’s class and economic standing. It is simply too reductive. Class is way more nuanced than that.
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Sometimes I catch myself feeling the same way when I see my fellow peers share a hashtag or raise an on-trend issue about something I have never heard them once refer to up until that moment or in IRL. And thus for a brief moment, pre-teen Clara returns and she’s judging you. Hard. Much to my disappointment and despite our ageing and all the wonders of technology, it turns everyone’s still a god damn poser.
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Some people argue that cancel culture does not exist, that it is “a myth”. Others say that ostracism has always been present in society, that it has just changed trajectory, flipping against elites which are now upset about it. Whether or not you think of cancel culture as new phenomenon, the two words most typed in the latest weeks are actually not as recent as you may think.
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When we think about ‘being offended’ as a concept and as a right, what do we mean? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, to offend means to ‘make someone feel upset, resentful, or annoyed.’ So far, so clear - but what does this definition tell us about the function of being offended? To my mind, to be offended is to examine what you stand for, what you find unjust, and why something makes you feel uncomfortable. Perhaps most crucially, it forces you to evaluate who you stand in solidarity with.
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In the last five years, the amount of vegans in the UK has quadrupled, and concern for animal welfare and the environment have proved to be two of the major factors for people considering adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. That was certainly what was on my mind when I decided to give up meat at the beginning of this year.
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Allowing ourselves to be obsessed and knocked back by every little thing that is said is not just inane, but exhausting. Language is supposed to facilitate sense. Stop shoehorning meaning into words and phrases so that you can claim to take offence and then gather in safe spaces whingeing about it.
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