White Supremacy is the Original “Cancel Culture”

Cancel is the new word for consequences. The (mostly) wealthy, white men who are outraged that they are suddenly being held to account for their harmful views and actions is telling. If you have been accustomed to white privilege then it may seem like being responsible for your behavior is oppressive. As a woman, I know that a kind of cancel culture has always existed. Not necessarily in the sense that you would expect to be punished for doing something offensive, but rather in the knowledge that standing up to white men, especially powerful ones, could cost you your job. Being fired because you rebuffed the advances of your boss, or dared to report his sexual harassment, is not an anomaly, it is an all too common consequence of standing up for yourself. Just like being violently attacked for trying to exercise your right to vote if you are Black in this country has been an all too common consequence of daring to stand up to (white supremacist) voter suppression. That threat of violence has been used as a way to cancel out the votes of those who wish to see our country live up to its ideals.

Does anyone think that we should feel sorry for a powerful man getting “canceled” and losing his job after he has gotten away with raping women for decades? Many of those women did not speak up about that kind of abuse of power for years because they knew there would be no repercussions for anyone but themselves. I have been hearing people like Senator Josh Hawley decry the “woke mob mentality that you should cancel anyone who disagrees with your views”. This disingenuous argument seems to ignore that it is not a case of disagreeing with his “views”, but with his support for and repetition of lies which resulted in real death and destruction. His lies, handed down by Trump purported that votes from places where the majority of votes were cast by Americans who are Black, were somehow suspect. His incitement of violence was preceded by a history of violence in this country against people who have fought disenfranchisement and he should absolutely have consequences for it. If you are more concerned with the very powerful being held to account for their words and actions than you are with the people who have lost their jobs and lives for refusing to bow to white supremacy and injustice, you might need to check your privilege.