Show notes
In today’s episode, Leslie and Leslyn tackle the term cancel culture coming from their discussion a few weeks back in episode on passive permission. So, what exactly is cancel culture? Leslie pulls a definition from The Telegraph where Tanya Gold defines it as so, “This is cancel culture. The phenomenon where if someone says something you think is appalling you not only protect but you also seek to remove the perpetrators livelihood and sometimes their life. Physical threats are important but are often dismissed because they are online.”
Leslie follows this by giving a recent example of this with the company Goya Foods after the president of the company shared a belief that many disagree with. This has caused many to stop buying Goya Foods products and can be a reason why cancel culture can make sense to exist or at least see why people believe it’s viable.
Leslie continues that as a small business owner, you realize the impact that your money has when you step into the small business environment. It makes sense that if someone gives you bad service or you do not like something that you can choose to not spend your money with that company. Leslyn adds that like with passive permission, if there is no consequence where is the motivation for the poor behavior to change? Leslie shares an example from involving her own company before posing the questions, when do we allow for change to come in? If someone does something, shouldn’t we give them the opportunity to change? If we take cancel culture to the extreme, what’s next?
Leslyn agrees that an all or none mentality is not healthy but gives the example of choosing to go to a restaurant. If you go to a restaurant and they do not provide good service or your server was bad, you may try that restaurant again. But if the same experience of service happens again, you probably will not go back to that restaurant. This is basically boycotting, and in a free market system supply and demand is crucial. In order to generate demand, you must serve your consumer it’s not a new thing.
Leslyn continues that in times when we disagree with a company or person but support their product we often are put between a rock and a hard place. Do you sacrifice your value to have the things you love, or do you give up the things you love to support your values? It really depends on the situation and the person choosing to honor their values or look the other way for things they love or want.
Leslyn gives another example, if someone says I’m sorry and they won’t do something again, then go on to demonstrate that with their behavior by not doing it again then we can accept that. The problem comes when the person does not change their behavior and the sorry then becomes meaningless, leaving us with a different problem.
Leslie shares the example of the actress, Jodie Comer who has been trending on Twitter as people are wanting to cancel her. Not because of anything she has done but because she is dating a Republican, Trump supporter. Jodie Comer herself has not done anything necessarily to be cancelled but she’s dating someone who has political beliefs that are aligning with the president. So where is the line for cancel culture?
Leslyn takes this into the arena of what is happening in our worlds right now and the division that is existing. There no longer is a middle of the road position on topics. People have come to the center taken a stand and gone all the way to one side. Going back to the example, Leslyn says psychologically speaking, if you are dating someone who is a Trump supporter that says a lot about your choices and about you as a person. Leslyn thinks that is what is happening here that people are making their values clear due to the actress’s choice.
After the last election, Leslyn shares that couple’s therapy went through the roof because someone voted for Trump or a family has ultra conservative parents and super liberal children. It seems upsetting that we would become so unaccepting, but where is the line in all this? If someone is violating your values, you have the right to set a boundary.
Leslie shares her fear and worries that nobody would care if people did not think they could get back to where they were after cancel culture. Leslyn replies that when she hears these worries, she thinks of things like prison reform especially for the more socially irresponsible things. That poses the question then, does a felon every have an opportunity for true reform in a world that they have to disclose that they are a felon?
Leslie says that knowing that cancel culture exists should be the wake-up call to examine where you are, where you are spending your money, and who you are reporting. Leslie and Leslyn both hope that the listeners will really sit back and think about this idea of cancel culture. Leslyn sees that the values are shifting in our culture. It’s one thing to agree to disagree over something like wall color or piercings but when it comes to a value of humanity it seems a stronger stance is needed. Leslyn continues that she believes what is happening is that we are navigating our values as a society at this moment in time.
Leslie and Leslyn hope that they have given you something to think about today when it comes to cancel culture. Listen back to the passive permission episode where Leslie and Leslyn discussed change with our commerce behavior as this is the other side or an extension of this topic. This week’s Try This at Home is to check your value system and your behaviors especially when it comes to your consumer behavior. Notice if it matches your value system and make very conscious and intentional decisions that you can live with!
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Links to Look At:
Episode 212: Passive Permission
[https://www.trythisathomepodcast.com/podcasts-1/2020/3/15/210-passive-permission-what-is-it]
The Telegraph | Much of Cancel Culture is Unserious – but the Effect on Us All is Chilling
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/much-cancel-culture-unserious-effect-us-chilling/]
Progressive Shopper | Chrome Extension
[https://progressiveshopper.com/]
The Stand | Stephen King
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149267.The_Stand]
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