This snippet looks into the Cancel Culture issue without taking sides.

• Def: Cancel Culture – the removal of support (i.e. boycotting or refusal to promote their work) for public figures in response to their objectionable behavior or opinions.

• [MK] needless to say, the keyword is “objectionable”, which means different things to different people.

Status Seeking

• Most humans are in search of status, and attacking a personality subjectively raises this status.

• Social media’s echo chamber [thanks to Facebook, Twitter, etc.] amplifies the perceived support of the attacking position.

One Against the Crowd

• Best conflict resolution is getting 1:1 with the most fierce attacker and finding common ground.

• Not possible in social media (anonymity, too many attackers).

• Personalities routinely address audiences larger than they can handle ignoring the fact that it’s no longer a one-to-many communication.

• Or personalities can double down on their positions, enlist supporters and rage an all-out war with attackers. Force against force.

• … or play victim (rightly or not), attacking their attackers from the side.

• [MK] And, of course, the dichotomy is that the person whose position you respect and who can attack you the hardest are often two different people.

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