If you're being "Cancelled" you're doing something wrong

So-called "Cancel Culture" isn't about taking things away from you. The removal of possibly-offensive items from the offerings of some companies is not about depriving you of these things, it's about the companies wanting to no longer contribute to things and ideas that offend some people. It's a basic business principle: give the people what they want. If the majority of people are calling for change, most big companies will make that change in the interest of business. I can almost guarantee you that there are changes which have been made in the past for exactly the same reasons as the recent decisions, which have benefitted you. Just to get to where we are now, to where you have these things to be outraged about the changing of, has taken many, many generations of change and progress.

When the few cry out that injustices are being inflicted on toys or cartoon characters by those who control said commodities, what they are really saying is, "I value the stability of the world as I know it, and an unchanging nature to things I otherwise wouldn't give two thoughts to, over real people whose problems and concerns I have no interest in understanding or considering." All of a sudden you care about Mr. Potato Head, or about the few Dr. Seuss books (one of which you've maybe come across in your life) that have been removed from publication. Note that the books are NO LONGER BEING PUBLISHED, which is a long way from being censored, removed, banned, burned, etc. The estate of the author has decided, based on their own interests (whether moral, financial, or otherwise) to discontinue publication of a handful of the author's lesser-known works. This is nothing like censorship. This is responding to the popular public emotion and the overall national desire to progress beyond much of the ugliness of its past. 

Yes, some people can seem "too sensitive." Sometimes the changes progress makes affect us directly, taking away some options that we've enjoyed. It's the constitution of a strong individual who can recognize and accept those changes, those sacrifices, as for the good of the people overall. I wanted to buy .45 caliber ammunition for my grandfather's pistol. The state denied my request. Was it because I don't have a registered firearm on record? Was it that I've had some misdemeanor arrests in my past? I don't know. But I do know that, a few years ago, I was able to walk into a store and walk out with the shells. I also know that my inability to do so now is a result of tighter firearm legislation, trying to curb gun violence. While I have not personally been affected by gun violence, I recognize that many people have, and I willingly accept that some of my former rights are now restricted in the interest of public safety. Maybe a better, less incendiary example is in order. In the past I have had to pay to have one of my cars upgraded to pass a smog check. Yes, this was an inconvenience for me, but I recognize that clean-air laws are important for all of us. 

If I lived in a tiny world where the only things that mattered were the things that touched me directly, and anyone else's sensitivity was simply weakness and selfishness, then I might look for whatever society has decided it has had enough of and discontinued, and I would champion those things as victims of liberalism. I might be one of the "of course" people. "Of course they did this. Of course whatever I don't like happened. Of course I'm victimized again. I can't win. Everything in life is stacked against me. All my failings are because of a society that's directly and intentionally aimed at making me suffer." It's one way to take the blame of your failings off of yourself. Of course it's got nothing to do with your inability to keep your f***ing mouth shut or to make an effort to play along with the society you want to accept and nurture you. 

For some I believe it has to do with rebellion. People who feel they are (or who desire to be) on the fringe of society, who reject popular things BECAUSE they are popular, presumably to set themselves apart from the masses, make choices like these to reinforce their stance in the counter-culture. It's not even about Potato Head (a brand which, incidentally, still includes a Mr. and a Mrs.) or Dr. Seuss (your kids and grandkids will still be able to buy new copies of Green Eggs and Ham and The Grinch and 50 other titles that are not affected by the recent decision) or Monsieur Le Pew. It's about having something to hold up as evidence that we're being victimized in some way. It's about fear, and most of these people will tell you as much; notice the percentage of complaints that things are changing which then go on to say "what's next?" followed by the most extreme example they can think of. 

This narrow world view of self-interest and absurd conclusions shows itself in a commercial I often see for a milk product which has the lactose removed. The person in the ad says that people claim it can't be real milk. He goes on to say that "these animals MUST not be real cows" and therefore concludes that they "must be really big dogs." Nevermind the fact that there are many, many animals that they could be besides unrealistic dogs (who also lactate), such as goats or other animals they more closely resemble, this is an example of using an absurd conclusion, which offers or considers no other possibilities, to prove a self-serving point. 

I'll admit (as if I have to) that I'm generally liberal. That is to say, I consider the interests of other people, whose plight or struggle I don't necessarily understand, to be at least as important as my own. I am, however, about a hair's breadth from being a nihilist. It's like there's almost literally a switch in my brain that I can flick between "everybody matters" and "nobody matters." There are also parts of me that align with certain conservative viewpoints, such as, I feel I am entitled to the things I've earned in life and I don't want them taken away, or that, as a white person in America, I'm quickly falling out of favor with our society as a whole. I also enjoy guns and shooting them. With these things in mind, I can still look at the issues of the day without going to extreme ends in my conclusions, and recognize that I'm not losing everything that matters to me. Some people are. Indigenous Americans are losing their land, their sacred sites and grounds. Black Americans are losing their sons and daughters and beloved family to violence perpetrated by unthreatened white people. Could some of these Black men be more cooperative with police commands? Yes, they could. Should they have to in order to retain their heartbeat? I don't see why; White people are regularly taken into custody without harm, armed or not. And what choice did people like Breonna Taylor or Botham Jean have? Lying peacefully in their own homes, they are shot dead by police who gave them no option. 

I don't pretend to understand the struggles of Black Americans or Indigenous Americans or any other POC. I'm privileged. I know that. But that informs me of my obligation to try to understand, from my place of privilege, what I can do to help others enjoy some of the entitlements I take for granted. 

I'm not afraid anymore. I was once, and I get it. I know that the unknown can be scary. I know that an uncertain future could wind up anywhere. Among my privileges are those of having a home and a family and a job, and having a really short bucket list at this point. I know what it's like to NOT have these things. I know it will be really upsetting if I lose any of these things (except for the bucket list part). But I don't fear them. I see the possibility as the next adventure. I've been lucky, and it is not entirely because of my race or political viewpoints; there are plenty of examples of people with the same "advantages" and the opposite who are doing both as well or better, and far worse than me. My own brother has been far less "lucky," though choices have played a big role in his arc. There is no silver bullet, no magic combination of pre-determined factors or ideologies that lead to the "luck" I enjoy. Some of it is that much worse things haven't happened to me, and some of it is the choices I've made. 

The point is, it's not that I'm missing what people are getting at when they talk about Cancel Culture, it's that I don't think these things are as big a deal as people are making them out to be. You care about it because it's a talking point, not because you care about the thing itself. If you cared about the thing itself, you would quickly see that the thing is still available to you; Facebook didn't take down your picture of the creepy skunk. They just took one scene out of a stupid, stupid movie (which, be honest, probably sucked balls anyway). If you don't have the time to look up the facts of what's happening, you don't have a place to bitch about what you think the results will be.