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Cancel culture is a form of social ostracism where individuals, groups or institutions face public backlash, often on social media, because of a perceived objectionable behaviour, statement or values. This results in the withdrawal of support and often aims to deny or frustrate the expression of the called-out party’s beliefs or work. People who have been cancelled often face significant social and professional repercussions and may sometimes lose their jobs or livelihood. source
There are different types of individuals, the ones that see the need, are happy to and believe people need to be corrected when they go wrong; and those who want to act like gods in every situation, whose first instinct is to punish the individual who has gone wrong sometimes just for the fun of it, or just because they can.
When someone makes a mistake, and the only thing that comes to mind is a strict punishment without first knowing the reason for the individual's defaulting and how best you can help or try to correct them.
Ostracising a person makes us judge, jury and executor rather than allowing the law to prosecute and pass judgment. The fact that people jump straight into judging a person rather than correcting the person comes from a desire to control rather than a resolution for justice.
Everyone makes mistakes, and because we are human, we should be treated as such. Today it may be me, and tomorrow, it might be your own turn. How we treat others shows a clear example of how we want to be treated; if we don't love it for ourselves, let us not want it for our neighbours.
To correct someone, one must be patient in communicating and teach the other person who has gone wrong rather than inflicting immediate punishment. This only shows dominance and a display of authority, shifting focus from fixing the issue to establishing who has the power.
Rules and regulations are there for a reason, but when a person breaks those rules and regulations, correction should aim at helping the individual to learn, grow and avoid such mistakes going forward; in the case where this step is not taken, human errors are treated as a moral failing that demands retribution rather than an opportunity to learn.
Law and order exist in society to remove personal bias, anger, and favouritism. Public shaming or even online community cancellation speaks to individuals taking matters into their own hands and should not be seen as okay, but rather matter should be left in the hands of the legal team to handle.
Any form of ostracising or excessive punishment of people without correction and fair process will only damage trust within the community rather than building the community.
While I’m strongly against online cancellation, it is safe to say that its existence has kept a lot of people in check; a lot of people avoid doing terrible things sometimes because they are scared of being publicly humiliated or being dragged online. Having seen the effects of online cancellation closely, one may tend to refrain from doing or saying something that may affect them in the end.
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