Before I begin, let’s set one thing straight: I don’t condone acts of hate, unless justified such as egging an ex’s vehicle. Kindness above all in other cases, though.
However, there’s one thing my heart holds hate for. I cannot stand pretentiousness.
Those “O I’m so cool because I have a dangly earring" guys and the “Look at me because I’m in Cabo for the seventh summer in a row" gals. Yeah, you, I’m talking about you. Your pretentiousness is vile and it fuels cancel culture.
Cancel culture is when a group of people decide to denounce an individual, group or thing for reasons. Sometimes the reasons are justified and other times it is highly questionable.
In some ways, cancel culture is used by those trying to take back what is rightfully theirs. For example, the cancel culture that stemmed off of Me Too was an exceptional use of taking back power. However, canceling a restaurant because of a rumor that the chef is a Kanye West fan? Not a great look.
Cancel culture breeds between pretentious people. It’s like every time someone catches onto their niche interests, they have to cancel it immediately so that it can remain exclusive. Remember when it was cool to drive a classic car? Well, those are canceled because they don’t run on electricity.
Innocent until proven guilty flies out the window when it comes to cancel culture. Everyone is guilty, guilty and g-u-i-l-t-y, even if you’ve done nothing wrong. Individuals can be canceled for other’s actions. If your buddy decides to wear a political hat, it’s assumed that you too have those views. Sydney Sweeney anyone?
However, months ago, everyone loved Sweeney. She was a Hollywood heartthrob, but someone she associated with decided to display their “off-kilter” views, and it was over for her.
What’s weird about cancel culture is that it really only works one way. Proprietors of cancel culture love to flaunt their ideologies, but the minute someone isn’t up to the status quo, they’re canceled. It’s like when Regina wasn’t allowed to sit with the plastics because she wore yoga pants on a non-athleisure day in “Mean Girls."
Cancel culture is for the hive-minded and trendy. Those kids who want to be on top of everything. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it sure is for the petty.
Put your pitchforks down for a change. Hollywood is not going to care about a twitter rant from a teenage kid in the middle of Ohio unless they have extreme notoriety.
Most importantly, stop canceling your local businesses for no reason. Several businesses have signs that you can’t sit at their establishment with outside food or drink. It’s common courtesy.
Yet, those who feed into cancel culture do lack some manners. If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, right?
I think cancel culture is toxic and the people who think that it helps eliminate toxicity from the world don’t realize that they are releasing more acid than they are removing.
Next time you think about throwing an old record away because an artist was friends with James Charles, remember that you too bought Charles’ palette and were a subscriber to his YouTube channel. You’re no better, so quit acting like it.
The only thing I’ll be canceling this season is skinny jeans. They’re stupid and I hate them, you should too.
The Pest is a satirical column that does not reflect the views of The Post.
