Cancel Culture and Dr. Frankenstein

 I haven't touched on this topic yet, mainly because I wasn't exactly sure how to get my point across. Because this is such a touchy subject with people.  The topic is cancel culture.

Let me say to start that I find the term "Cancel Culture" to be rather sterile. It's almost like it was born out of a corporate buzzword brainstorming session. Cancel Culture. Conservatives, who suddenly want to brand themselves as defenders and heroes of the first amendment, brand anyone they see fit as engaging in cancel culture. They like to call anyone that calls for so-called "cancelation" as soft, or a snowflake. 

What we need to do is understand some historical facts, undisputed facts as they were. Conservatives fostered and nurtured cancel culture for decades. They tried to cancel Elvis Presley. They said Elvis' hip gyrations would cause young Americans to feel lusty desires. Ed Sullivan had to agree to film Elvis from only the waist up to appease those that called for the legendary T.V. show host to cancel Elvis' appearance. They even called for boycotts of the show's sponsors. They were ready to toss ol' Ed off the air simply because who he chose to have appear on his show. Their efforts failed, and Elvis went on, and was a success. 

Then there was the Beatles. During their Yesterday and Today tour, John Lennon made the comment about the Beatles being "Bigger than Jesus". This led to a firestorm of protest by Christians and Conservatives. Radio stations were demanded to not play any Beatles music. In some locations, they made a spectacle of it. The conservatives would stage burnings of Beatles LPs and posters. The Vatican demanded an apology. Here again we have a cancel culture movement led by conservatives.

Then there was the movement to cancel Prince over the lyrics to Darling Nikki. When that was over, they moved on to Madonna, protesting over the video to the song Like a Prayer. The combination of burning crosses and Madonna kissing a saint that happened to be black was too much for conservatives. They demanded that radio stations quit playing the song, that stores stop selling the 45 single that was released. And that MTV stop playing the music video. Whereas the pervious protest bore little fruit, this one did a little damage. Madonna lost her endorsement deal with Pepsi. There was a boycott of all Pepsi products and Pepsi cut ties with Madonna. Though Madonna was able to keep the five-million-dollar fee, the protesters won, costing her an endorsement deal that could have netted her millions, beyond the five million fee.

Fresh off of that, Terry Rakolta, a conservative from Michigan, was offended by an episode of ...Married With Children. After a strong letter writing campaign, multiple sponsors pulled their ads, but the protest only made people want to see what the show was all about. However, the fact remained that we had a case of a conservative trying to cancel what they didn't like. Donald Trump is a prime example of the hypocrisy associated with cancel culture. The man that spent decades trying to cancel others was suddenly aghast at the idea of cancel culture when it set its sights on him.  

Cancel culture has been around for a long time, it's just metamorphized into other forms.  From my point of view, cancel culture has become Frankenstein's monster. While some have tried to use to it hold other to accountability, others have weaponized it to remove what they personally find offensive. The advent of social media has just given it stronger legs.  The main issue has been people jumping aboard a cancel bandwagon based on a few tweets without themselves doing the slightest bit of actual research. That is one of the dangerous elements we now face. Another element that has grown larger since the days of Ed Sullivan and Elvis. The irony that is lost on many people practicing cancel culture that if the tables were turned, they'd plead form a second chance.  And that is why I referred to cancel culture as Frankenstein's monster. because everyone of us is one misspeak, one error, one error from our youth from being canceled.  

Looking back at 2021 and hope for the Future

 

Chris Murray	Thu, Dec 30, 10:28 AM (1 day ago)
to me

It was December 2020, and we were all looking forward to putting behind us a year that was one of the most turbulent in recent memory. COVID not only shutdown the United States, but essentially shutdown the world as the best minds of science began to seek out a solution.  All of the sporting events, concerts, social gatherings that we took for granted was suddenly taken from us. We couldn't gather in crowds, and a great deal of time went before we could actually see loved ones in the flesh. And as 2020 drew to a close, we tried to be optimistic. We were finally feeling that a new year would bring us good fortune. And we could not have been more wrong. 

Just days after the new year began, something that had never happened before occurred. A sitting U.S. President, who'd just lost his re-election bid, gathered a flock of his followers. He whined that the election was stolen, and that he and only he was the rightful president. Despite zero factual evidence, Donald Trump whipped a frenzy among his devoted followers. What happened next was something that for the longest time, no one could envision happening in America. It only happened in other countries, countries that don't have a strong, stable central government. There was an attempted overthrow of the American government. As Trump's followers stormed the castle, elected leaders were forced into hiding. The very people that in the previous year had "backed the Blue" was now attacking police officers, with the full intent of harm, possibly deadly if the need arise. They even chanted "Hang Mike Pence" as they roamed the halls. They wanted to have a public execution of the Vice President of the United States, because Trump lied when he told his followers, Mike Pence could overturn the election if he saw fit.  

When that was said and done, the U.S. Capitol lay in chaos. A Trump supporter was shot and killed after she failed to comply with the lawful order of police. One officer that day had a heart attack and died, and several have since taken their own lives, unable to move past the trauma from that day. We're not even a week into the new year, and already we've had an attempted overthrow. One could only wonder what was next. 

A few weeks later, Joe Biden is sworn in as President, with security enhanced. Meanwhile, Covid cases surpass the 100 million mark. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom. Vaccines were being given, the U.S. returned to the Paris Agreement.  By March 2021, over 500 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. However, close to three million had died from CVOID. 

The world watched as SpaceX took its baby steps. Blue Origin would conduct a human test flight, aboard the craft was former NASA Astronaut Wally Moon, who at 82, became the oldest person ever to go into space. Albert Einstein's theory of General relativity is confirmed when light is detected from a Black Hole.

We learned that our impact on the climate is only getting worse, and sadly, those warnings weren't heeded by a group beholden to companies that play a role in damaging the environment. New Orleans in struck by Hurricane Ida, causes damages and claiming many lives. Meanwhile, COVID cases increases. After a brief grip was made on the disease and certain restrictions relaxed, the variants of the disease appear, setting back much of the progress.