Every month we invite our readers to pitch us articles on a theme revealed in our regular newsletter. Find out what our next theme is by subscribing to our newsletter below. Inspired by some Twitter interactions, April’s theme was ‘Cancel Culture. Jessica Delfino is helping us understand the phenomenon with some lesser forms of cancel culture we may all have experienced. Independent of our celebrity status.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave (which isn’t so unlikely, due to the variety of Airbnb rentals out there) you know that cancel culture – the act of a person, group, politician or business, especially one of some societal clout, being shunned and shamed for behaviour or speech that is considered by enough people to be damaging to the greater good of society, is alive and well.
It manifests as cancelled movie deals, lost jobs, ixnayed shows, pulled commercials, pissed off neighbours, nasty @’s, and more. Unless you’re a celebrity, have a huge social media following or did something publicly that was remarkably stupid, you might not have experienced “being cancelled” on a large scale, first hand. But here are some lesser forms of cancel culture which you might actually have found yourself privy to.
Being Ghosted
When someone abruptly, surprisingly vanishes out of your life (et tu, mom?) you have been what is known as “ghosted.” Friends, bosses and even strangers are capable of this fiendish and troublesome behaviour, and it is, on a minor scale, one very individualised, and extremely annoying form of being cancelled.
Getting Stood Up On A Date
When your date doesn’t show up, believe it or not, this is a form of cancel culture on a minute scale. At least for the sake of the date, you’ve been cancelled!
When Plants Don’t Grow In Your Garden
You put all the effort into planting seeds, watering them and standing around like a schmuck with your hands in your pockets, waiting for them to show you the smallest glimpse of their existence. If they do, huzzah! You’re obviously a very successful gardener. If not, it’s just your plants letting you know what’s what: your tomato plants have officially cancelled you.
When Your Tweets Get Ignored
You posted what you were sure was going to be a viral tweet and, sorry to say, but it went by almost completely unnoticed with only four paltry likes, and two of them were by your mom and sister. Rack your brain and think, for a moment, about all the people you’ve slighted. Is this them coming back to give you the what for by giving you nothing at all? Have you been cancelled? Probably.
When Your Car Won’t Start
She’s been a loyal old girl, but this morning, of all mornings, she’s giving you the cold, cruel shoulder. Of course, it’s today – the day of the big work review/the important audition/you’re crowning. You may never get to know why, but what should be clearly visible is that your car has cancelled you. Hopefully your feet haven’t – yet.
When Your Baking Turns Out To Be Inedible
After getting suddenly laid off, baking your muffins, cakes, cookies and breads has been the one thing that brings you inner peace. You’ve even considered selling the things to farmer’s markets and the local shops. You barely need to follow the recipes anymore, but for some reason, this large, expensive batch of gluten-free vegan muffins look like they’ve had the middles sucked out of them. What has happened? Your muffins have cancelled you, that’s what.
So if, for some odd reason, you’re feeling sad that you’re not famous enough to be cancelled, reconsider—you, in fact, are being cancelled all day every day.
