• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Cancel culture IRL

Status
Not open for further replies.
Can we adopt a rule here?

Anything that happens completely on the internet to people who are only famous on the internet is a completely different beast.
 
Hell, she put timestamps in the comments. (and I'd hardly call Lindsay Ellis a 'rando').
Agreed.

Managed to find an print excerpt for those who aren't into the whole YouTube thing:

Lindsay Ellis said:
“Every thought is a hostage situation. Is this the tweet that’s going to sink me? So what do we call it? What is the name for this unspoken, unacknowledged culture of fear where we all know that one misstep can ruin our lives? This social media culture where we participate in public shaming one day and become chained to the pillory the next?

“We can’t even talk about it, because the beast does not have a name. If we admit that this is a problem, then the Right will just take it and run with it and use it to increase their own power. Same as they did with ‘cancel.’ Same as they did with ‘woke.’ Same as they did with ‘fake news.’

“If it has a name, then it has power, so it is a discussion that cannot be had. And so we do not have it. We say ‘cancel culture doesn’t exist’ and ignore this disease. Pretend it isn’t doing real harm...”

I feel like Lindsay was really close to identifying the underlying problem here, but ultimately fails to say why that specific subculture of fear has been conjured into being.

Anything that happens completely on the internet to people who are only famous on the internet is a completely different beast.
Why in the name of Sir Berners-Lee would people who spend time talking to each other on the internet want to adopt such a rule?
 
Last edited:
Agreed.

Managed to find an print excerpt for those who aren't into the whole YouTube thing:



I feel like Lindsay was really close to identifying the underlying problem here, but ultimately fails to say why that specific subculture of fear has been conjured into being.

Why in the name of Sir Berners-Lee would people who spend time talking to each other on the internet want to adopt such a rule?

The problem with Lindsay Ellis’s stance is the phrase “is this the tweet that will sink me?”
If you think that a tweet might “sink” you, there is a simple solution: don’t post it.
Same as this humble forum; if you think something is inappropriate and chose to post it you risk being told to take a time-out.
 
I agree, I think if you make a living giving opinions via crowdfunding, patreon, YouTube, etc then asking yourself if the thing you’re going to say next going to ruin your livelihood is pretty necessary.

I think it’s a pretty hard sell that people who choose to make their living that way are entitled support no matter their opinions on any topic. It’s the nature of e-celebrity as a profession.
 
I agree, I think if you make a living giving opinions via crowdfunding, patreon, YouTube, etc then asking yourself if the thing you’re going to say next going to ruin your livelihood is pretty necessary.
It is, indeed, in part b/c those participating in viral shaming don't stop to ask questions like, "Have we taken this too far?" or "Might we have uncharitably misinterpreted that tweet?" or "Is this particular shaming truly righteous or mere moral grandstanding?"
 
Last edited:
It is, indeed, in part b/c those participating in viral shaming don't stop to ask questions like, "Have we taken this too far?" or "Might we have uncharitably misinterpreted that tweet?" or "Is this particular shaming truly righteous or mere moral grandstanding?"

How do you know they don’t?
 
How do you know they don’t?
It's fairly obvious, much of the time.

Do you think the Lindsay Ellis shaming is the result of people asking themselves those sorts of questions and clearheadedly determining that she really deserved more pile-on?
 
It is, indeed, in part b/c those participating in viral shaming don't stop to ask questions like, "Have we taken this too far?" or "Might we have uncharitably misinterpreted that tweet?" or "Is this particular shaming truly righteous or mere moral grandstanding?"

Perhaps many do. Stuff like this is a massive collection of disorganized, individual actions and people forming their own independent opinions. They're not having board meetings and sending memos out about it.

Either way it like all the more reason to protect your income by trying to be as conscious of your audience as possible. Or deal with the consequences of being unpopular. There's opportunities there also.
 
It's fairly obvious, much of the time.

Do you think the Lindsay Ellis shaming is the result of people asking themselves those sorts of questions and clearheadedly determining that she really deserved more pile-on?

Not my claim to support. It seems that you just “feel” like they don’t, is that correct?
 
I want as many rioters indicted as possible, even if they get probation; that way, they won't get guns, government jobs or security clearances.
 
Ten Ways to Defend Against a Cancellation Attack

Principles 6 & 7 are the most important ones in this scenario.

I think the internet is ready for an Orwell rule, broadly in the tradition of Godwin's Law.

Those that describe their opposition as "Orwellian"- it doesn't really matter if they're correct or not in the long run. There's a 9/10 chance they're so insufferable that engagement is a punishment to us all, like having your head in a rat cage.
 
Not my claim to support. It seems that you just “feel” like they don’t, is that correct?

It seems quite clear that the cancelers gave the cancellation the consideration that they thought it was due.

Which, oddly enough, is exactly what d4m10n has been campaigning for in this very thread.
 
It seems quite clear that the cancelers gave the cancellation the consideration that they thought it was due.
So far as I can tell, most of them did not even stop to ask whether there was a non-racist explanation for those tweets.

Does such an approach strike you as due consideration?
 
Last edited:
So far as I can tell, most of them did not even stop to ask whether there was a non-racist explanation for those tweets.

Does such an approach strike you as due consideration?

How can you tell that?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom