Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Understanding cancel culture: Normative and unequal sanctioning

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Given the events of the last year and a half this is an interesting and topical discussion, but I want to be clear that the act 'to cancel' is something that came into existence only when people of privilege began facing consequences for their actions. That's why it's not surprising to find some forms of cancellation (like the 'Karen' phenomenon) specifically targeting a less privileged class. And (again in my view) the idea of 'cancel culture' is about those people of privilege appropriating the language of people who have very genuinely faced discrimination from that same privileged class. It's like they're saying "what you're doing to us is the same as what we've done to you," when of course there's utterly no comparison. Now, having said that, the interesting parts of this post revolve around what what 'cancellation' is (I would ask, are social norms really enforced by individuals calling out transgressions) and who is responsible (is it 'cancellation' only if it results in sanctions by employers, advertisers, and other authorities?).

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 25, 2024 08:19 a.m.

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