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Nick Cave labels ‘cancel culture’ as “mercy’s antithesis”

Cooky

Veteran Member
I was curious if anyone considers the Cancel culture's "refusal to engage with uncomfortable ideas" as having an "asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society".

I thought Caves comments were spot on.

Nick Cave says that 'cancel culture' is "mercy's antithesis"

Nick Cave: Cancel culture mercy’s antithesis - Falseto

Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world. Its once honourable attempt to reimagine our society in a more equitable way now embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer (and none of the beauty) — moral certainty and self-righteousness shorn even of the capacity for redemption. It has become quite literally, bad religion run amuck"

 
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Lyndon

"Peace is the answer" quote: GOD, 2014
Premium Member
Cancel culture only exists in right wing xxx jobs minds
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
Cancel culture is indeed a thing that can clearly be observed and experienced; they are disproportionate, vindictive reactions that are quite common among SJW types.

This was a good example: Rosetta scientist Dr Matt Taylor apologizes for ‘offensive’ shirt
Instead of accepting his apology and moving on, this guy continued to be mercilessly harassed long after he issued a tearful apology. The controversy was blew out of proportion to the point of overshadowing their accomplishment.
 

Erebus

Well-Known Member
Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.

I saw this definition online. I don't know if the concept has been changed over time but going by this definition, yes I would say cancel culture certainly exists.

My own feelings on it are kind of mixed. I do think people often jump on a bandwagon without sufficient information. I also think people will sometimes go way overboard in their reactions, such as in the example @Father Heathen gave. Finally, I really loathe the instances in which somebody is attacked over a years-old tweet as it implies that people can't change their minds over time.

The flipside to this one is that people aren't obligated to buy from a company, read a particular series of books, watch a particular Youtube channel and so on. You can't really make people buy the Harry Potter books if they don't want to. Also, the backlash to cancel culture sometimes strays into classic trap of essentially arguing, "I get to say what I want and if you criticise me, you're stifling my freedom of speech."

Personally, I would like a situation in which people are able to withdraw support and explain why without dogpiling somebody on twitter. Yeah, I know I might as well ask for a solid gold, flying pig while I'm at it.

Anyway, that's all sort of tangential to the OP but I thought I'd my broader thoughts on the subject.

I was curious if anyone considers the Cancel culture's "refusal to engage with uncomfortable ideas" as having an "asphyxiating effect on the creative soul of a society".

I don't quite agree with him on his first point as you can engage with uncomfortable ideas and criticise somebody for endorsing them.* There is an abundance of literature available on Nazism for example, ranging from academic papers to pulp fiction. All of it, no matter how shallow, requires that you engage with an uncomfortable idea on at least some level. Even if you never have a civil conversation with somebody who endorses Nazism, that doesn't automatically imply a refusal to engage with the idea.

In terms of it having an asphyxiating effect on creativity ... I think he has a point there. One major criticism I have of some liberals (for the record, I consider myself a liberal) is a tendency to overlook context. To use Nazism as an example again, there's a difference between portraying Nazism and endorsing it. I've seen people complain that American History X is racist and I always want to yell, "It's showing how damaging racism is! How the hell did you miss that?" When people miss broader context in such a spectacular manner, I can easily see people being wary of including certain subjects in their art.


*See my previous statement on the issues surrounding that.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
As long as people see and agree that the right also has had a cancel culture for quite some time, we can debate the principle. If some insist that it's only the left that does it, we'll get nowhere.

Cancel culture and conservative glass houses

Meanwhile, young conservatives like Ben Shapiro who act like cancel culture is some new left-wing invention are forgetting that right-wingers themselves have been its main practitioners through most of American history. One does not have to go back to pre-Revolutionary America — when Puritans were engaging in the ultimate cancellation and hanging "witches" — to find examples of cultural conservatives "canceling” those who defied their moral strictures. In living memory, employers regularly fired those suspected of being atheists, gays and, of course, communists (remember the McCarthy era?). Only a short time ago, allowing gays in the military on a "don't ask, don't tell" basis, a policy hesitantly implemented by a Democratic president against stiff conservative opposition, was considered progress.


The patriotically inclined right also still has its own list of cancellation-worthy offenses. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick found himself blackballed from the league after President Trump berated him for taking the knee during the national anthem and asked the league to "get that son of a ***** off the field right now." The right's uproar over comments by lefty stand-up comic Bill Maher (that the 9-11 terrorists were brave compared to American forces that launched bombs from a safe 2,000 mile distance) got his show, Politically Incorrect, canceled in the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center. The band Dixie Chicks was likewise canceled after its members voiced public disgust at the Iraq War.
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
I see that it's becoming Politically Correct these days to be against Cancel Culture.

Nick Cave isn't really politically correct though. It's more like it's cool to be against Cancel Culture. Cave is also very intelligent, and high energy.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
I saw this definition online. I don't know if the concept has been changed over time but going by this definition, yes I would say cancel culture certainly exists.
It's just a label for rejecting right-wing politicians, CEOs, and other institutions based on their anti-social proclamations, policies, and behaviors. The right wingers LOVE to imagine themselves as being unfairly mistreated as they propose, support, and unfairly mistreat everyone else.
 

Lyndon

"Peace is the answer" quote: GOD, 2014
Premium Member
As far as I see it, right wing aholes say a bunch of stupid BS, then when any intelligent person points out that it is BS, they are labeled as cancel culture, that's why I stand by my claim that cancel culture, is not a thing, its just BS made up by right wing nut jobs.
 
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