Cancel My Culture
March 19, 2021:
Trying to articulate one’s thoughts, in a blog format, in a manner that is humble, sensitive, unique and stimulating enough that anyone…any…one…would actually be interested enough to take the time to read about it is challenging to say the least, especially as the distance between each blog broadens. Quality creative writing requires steady practice, not unlike playing a musical instrument proficiently, or becoming a top tier skateboarder (just thought I’d throw that last one in there to sound cool).
But what do people really want, other than to while away the hours “swiping right” through each fifteen second snippet of the latest insta-crazy-video brought forth by the next throw-away social media App that comes along. Reading something like a blog, or especially a novel, seems like such an archaic and outdated pastime. Doesn’t it? BTW, keep reading for bonus material at the end (see what I did there? The call-to-action statement. Clever right?).
These are not just strange times, but in my opinion, are the strangest of times. There is a shift of energy going on that is pulling the old school mentality, in the form of cancel culture, down into the shredder and quite frankly destroying some people’s careers and livelihoods based, in some instances, solely on a bad tweet or a poor decision to post a suspect picture on Instagram or some other social media sight.
A teenager, or young adult, makes an ignorant comment (perhaps racist, or sexist, or maybe out of anger, etc.) at an immature stage of their life and then pays the price going forward for that error in judgement many years later in the form of a lost job opportunity or some other life changing penalty because some person, or more likely some group, brought it to light (for personal gain, maybe?).
An example of this would be an op-ed article written by Todd Spangler regarding a woman who was let go almost immediately after just being hired as the new Editor-in-Chief for Teen Vogue Magazine due to a racist tweet that she had made years prior as a student towards a teacher. Now, I am most definitely not excusing the behavior, but I am suggesting that we all live in glass houses and that maybe a sincere apology and a second chance should hold some credence over the fear of potential profit loss due to social media gang ups.
Ask yourself, in a society that is trying to work towards antibullying, how is gang social media shaming any different? Should companies not be afforded the opportunity to find out for themselves, without the fear of financial reprisals from some anonymous group of holier-than-thou’s, whether or not someone has learned from their prior transgressions. I personally believe that some mistakes, when acknowledged and learned from can truly make someone a better person. How about you?
So, what’s this all got to do with me? Well…absolutely nothing, except that it just frosts my cookies when I see rich old senate cronies and propaganda spewing news networks and magazines knowingly lying and propagating misinformation in the solitary and obvious effort to do nothing more than try to retain what little power they may currently have and getting away with it. Are these not the very people who should be socially shamed and fired for their continuous soulless acts of depravity and corruption? These clowns are old enough to know better, and they do know it, and we know it as well, and yet some young woman (could be any young person) is paying a price that these morons seem immune to, and to me that’s what makes it unpalatable.
Projectbigskinny isn’t meant to be a diatribe on political, or social injustice. It’s supposed to be about the light-hearted journey of a retired air traffic controller in the search for his creative soul, but unfortunately being stuck in the house for the last year has made this retired controller a little ornery. Okay, I’ve always been ornery…whatever.
I guess it’s here (and I will be learning more about self-promotion going forward) where I’m supposed to say, “Hey, if you like what you’re reading click the like button or leave a comment regarding this or any other topic you’d like me to open up about or subscribe to my site so that you won’t miss a single post”(oh boy, isn’t that exciting), but…as I’ve said in a previous blog, shameless self-promotion is just not my thing. So, I’ll keep my top on.
Of course, now that I’ve said that, below is the link to my new teaser trailer for my upcoming book Misty Lake. It is also located on the Misty Lake page on this website. If you’re offended by it, or anything I’ve said in the previous blog or blogs please feel free to cancel my culture. I could use the publicity.
Until next time.