OK, I thought to myself, now I understand. That sounds rather benign on the surface. If a certain company funds anti-LGBTQ organizations and I hear about their taking such a stance, I will no longer buy their products. If a celebrity is blatantly racist or anti-Semitic, and that comes to my attention, I will no longer go to their films, listen to their music or watch their television programs. Does that mean I am engaging in cancel culture? I guess, by the dictionary definition it does.
In some ways it is an aesthetic issue. I have never been a fan of the art for art's sake movement, that you can separate art from it's maker or from its context. The idea that art should simply be appreciated on its own merits. Context does matter. Intent does matter. And the views of the creator, the maker, of a product, whether it be artistic or not, is worth taking into consideration.
But I do see a significant difference between publicly shaming such companies or individuals and withdrawing my financial support. Maybe the real issue is how we go about showing our displeasure or disapproval. Yes, it is easy to create a meme and splash it all over the internet, but wouldn't it be even more effective to write a letter to the individual or company in question? A thoughtful, expletive-free letter? A letter explaining why you will no longer consume their product? Maybe not. Maybe I'm just being naïve. But whatever, in the end I am still convinced the most productive approach is to attempt to enter into a dialogue.
I have no problem with your interpretation of cancel culture, but it seems to be going much further than that in today's atmosphere. Cancel culture as it is being practiced today calls for one to condemn anyone who disagrees with any part, even in a nuanced way, of a specific point of view. For example, I have no problem with the removal of Confederate General statues throughout the South. I disagree, however, with renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor John Lewis. I believe that the old name should stand because it represents the virulent racism of the time and the continued underlying racism that guides our society today in voter suppression of people of color. Such a stand could call for me to be shunned and shamed for not removing all the vestiges of racism in our society. Not that such treatment would worry me that much. It represents the proverbial slippery slope. When cancel culture starts to impinge on open dialogue, we need to back away from it.
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