unedited
Just wanted to note down and organise my thoughts on activism, woke culture, cancel culture, mob mentality, etc etc.
Spending time online nowadays has made me question: is objectivity not a thing anymore?! Where are the neutral, unbiased voices?
Its just that I've been noticing that some people are engaging in issues in a way that almost totally shuts out opposing views. In a sense, these people believe so strongly that they are right, and that any other, even slightly different view is wrong. Worse still, I've even seen them attacking some of their own, for not subscribing to their exact brand of activism, or perhaps not holding such an extreme view on a particular subject.
This then brings me to cancel culture, whereby individuals get called out, then shamed and boycotted due to some controversial actions or words. Firstly, it's obvious that racism, discrimination, etc, is wrong. And when somebody says something racist/homophobic they should get called out for it. And they should acknowledge their mistake. However, people seem to forget that nobody is perfect. Nobody has not said something ignorant before in their lives. We sometimes use words or do things without being aware of how it might be harmful to certain cultures/races/people. And not everyone has had the opportunity to be educated on it. (Some examples incluse using the "N" word, cultural appropriation, blackface, etc).
So what these transgressors have done could very well be a result of ignorance, or simply not knowing that this is wrong. Its only right that people reach out to educate them on why its wrong.
However, what I see is people not seeking to educate that particular transgressor, but to punish. Perhaps its human nature to outright reject individuals who do not adhere to the group voice/ belief. I do not think that there is evidence to support that punishment or shaming is effective in getting somebody to change their views. In fact, (what i feel) is that publicly shaming someone might just produce feelings of anger and resentment, and not trigger any motivation/inclination to change. The person being punished may act like they have changed, and apologise, just to placate the angry mob. But whether this person has really accepted the "correct" view is questionable.
So I wonder if shame and humiliation as social justice tools are really that effective, when sometimes I feel it borders on outright bullying. The punitive style of discipline not only might be ineffective, but can actually lead to antisocial behavior, and increased levels of anxiety. And this is what I feel is the objective of a lot of people who "call out" others online.
While writing this I actually did some self reflection and wondered if I was being hypocritical. Being someone who has participated in the "calling out" of some celebrities/influencers (cant remember who exactly but I think it was that Malaysian beauty pageant winner who said something offensive about black people in america). I can understand why people actually find it tempting to call people out. Obviously, the initial feeling of outrage, "how dare this person say something so stupid/hurtful" and of course needing to let this person know how wrong they were. Additionally, the mob mentality. Seeing so many others leaving hate comments (some even asking the person to kill themselves) kind of riles one up to feel like the person is the 'enemy' and we gotta punish and defeat them through this collective group effort.
So yeah, having done the same thing I can only understand all too well how it is so easy to just add to the multitude of comments to shame the person. Mainly to punish them. But is that really what we want to do as fellow human beings? I know it sounds really cringey but try a little empathy. We probably are more similar in our human experiences than our views on certain issues.
Spending time online nowadays has made me question: is objectivity not a thing anymore?! Where are the neutral, unbiased voices?
Its just that I've been noticing that some people are engaging in issues in a way that almost totally shuts out opposing views. In a sense, these people believe so strongly that they are right, and that any other, even slightly different view is wrong. Worse still, I've even seen them attacking some of their own, for not subscribing to their exact brand of activism, or perhaps not holding such an extreme view on a particular subject.
This then brings me to cancel culture, whereby individuals get called out, then shamed and boycotted due to some controversial actions or words. Firstly, it's obvious that racism, discrimination, etc, is wrong. And when somebody says something racist/homophobic they should get called out for it. And they should acknowledge their mistake. However, people seem to forget that nobody is perfect. Nobody has not said something ignorant before in their lives. We sometimes use words or do things without being aware of how it might be harmful to certain cultures/races/people. And not everyone has had the opportunity to be educated on it. (Some examples incluse using the "N" word, cultural appropriation, blackface, etc).
So what these transgressors have done could very well be a result of ignorance, or simply not knowing that this is wrong. Its only right that people reach out to educate them on why its wrong.
However, what I see is people not seeking to educate that particular transgressor, but to punish. Perhaps its human nature to outright reject individuals who do not adhere to the group voice/ belief. I do not think that there is evidence to support that punishment or shaming is effective in getting somebody to change their views. In fact, (what i feel) is that publicly shaming someone might just produce feelings of anger and resentment, and not trigger any motivation/inclination to change. The person being punished may act like they have changed, and apologise, just to placate the angry mob. But whether this person has really accepted the "correct" view is questionable.
So I wonder if shame and humiliation as social justice tools are really that effective, when sometimes I feel it borders on outright bullying. The punitive style of discipline not only might be ineffective, but can actually lead to antisocial behavior, and increased levels of anxiety. And this is what I feel is the objective of a lot of people who "call out" others online.
While writing this I actually did some self reflection and wondered if I was being hypocritical. Being someone who has participated in the "calling out" of some celebrities/influencers (cant remember who exactly but I think it was that Malaysian beauty pageant winner who said something offensive about black people in america). I can understand why people actually find it tempting to call people out. Obviously, the initial feeling of outrage, "how dare this person say something so stupid/hurtful" and of course needing to let this person know how wrong they were. Additionally, the mob mentality. Seeing so many others leaving hate comments (some even asking the person to kill themselves) kind of riles one up to feel like the person is the 'enemy' and we gotta punish and defeat them through this collective group effort.
So yeah, having done the same thing I can only understand all too well how it is so easy to just add to the multitude of comments to shame the person. Mainly to punish them. But is that really what we want to do as fellow human beings? I know it sounds really cringey but try a little empathy. We probably are more similar in our human experiences than our views on certain issues.
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