I don’t think anyone here would really take the time to read what I’m going to say right now. But if you do, thank you so much.
I was in tears of frustration after going on X (I still call it twitter in my mind) and many people who don’t like the app may understand why.
I really don’t like to post or reply very much on Twitter to avoid getting into it with other people. But this time I did and I knew I shouldn’t have looking back.
I have an opinion about cancel culture that most might not agree with. I don’t always agree with it since some people with snap of a finger immediately think someone is horrible for saying something or doing something.
Of course, if some celebrity ended up in court and was proved to have committed SA or some form of harm to another person, I would write them off then and there. My dislike of cancel culture is only me shaking my head at the small things. Since I can see the hypocrisy and there isn’t totally a black and white POV in most things people are on the verge of being cancelled for.
I think of the recent incident with the glambot guy, everyone digging up his emails since he had a weird interaction with JLo at the golden globes. Everyone saying that he was rude and probably a horrible person in his emails to a customer. I don’t deny that I think it was kind of rude. BUT, I can tell you now that every third maybe even second person who criticized this guy would have something rude or make them not look so great in their own messages. If they were a figure in the public eye and you could look into their DMs or messages, you may find something that wouldn’t make them look that great. I won’t deny that I may have posted some things as well that would not put a good light on me.
My point here is that people are people and we all have our moments where we may be seen as not a very nice person. Which is why I feel like empathy is lost when cancel culture is in full force.
When something comes up about a celebrity that make them look bad, people usually react in a few ways; they either criticize and cancel them or brush it off saying that it’s not a big deal.
I think this is why celebrities try to keep their lives private. The public eye sees them under a microscope, judging every move they make. If they stumble and fall on their face, the public punishes them for it. What I do is I try to keep in mind that they are also just people even if they seem so out of reach to someone unknown like me.
I think people are entitled to their opinion but I think it is sometimes unfair when someone throws a proverbial tomato at a public figure based on little facts and evidence. People post things on social media online and you might think some things they say you don’t agree with. But if you had the chance to meet them in real life, you may see who they really are at their core and understand who they are even if they may have said some not very nice things before. Which I think says something about celebrities and the average person not truly knowing who they are.
Sure, maybe a celebrity is actually not a very nice person as you see in the media. If you have an overwhelming amount of evidence and facts, I would be right there beside you writing them off too. It’s those that may not deserve it that I wish people would empathize with more.
There’s a show called Skam that really resonated with me especially with a particular character’s sort of mantra that she goes by. The quote is “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” I love this quote because it promotes empathy. It also aligns with her because this character deals with another who she thinks is horrible but grows to see different sides to him afterward. It makes me sad to see people in real life not seeing more to someone than what is portrayed outwardly.
For me, I was so frustrated and mad at this person on twitter who was trying to twist my opinion and deliberately misunderstand me. Until I remembered that I shouldn’t bicker when we were getting nowhere talking in circles and instead try to give them grace.
The thing is, I’m not a religious person who believes in total forgiveness and grace. I do believe though that everyone should open our minds and that even if you do write someone off, just try to understand what they’re going through a little bit.