Don’t Cancel me for this But...

My first experience with the term ‘cancel culture’ came from my younger sister, she belongs to the Generation Z demographic and like most Generation Z’s she is very active on social media platforms and would keep me in the loop with regards to trending topics ranging from AKA jumping off stage to crowd surf and failing to Twitter berating Doja Cat on her comments about her absentee father, Dumisani Dlamini.

Now, I myself am active on social media, but for a while, the cancel culture scene in South Africa eluded me until the #FeesMustFall trend started gaining speed, I saw this as a positive means to an end and it gained traction and actually got recognized by Government, leading to some positive changes in the Education sector. This may not be canceled culture exactly but I am using it as a basis for what may have triggered the cancel culture trend that is now very active on social media platforms in South Africa.

There are instances where the cancel culture trend has inspired people to become more accountable for their actions and speech, but there are instances where it has gone a little too far. Celebrities, in general, have been caught in it’s the web, when they are associated with a scandal or alleged wrongdoing of which the online community crucifies them for.

Celebrities like Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Simphiwe Dana, Ntsiki Mazwai, and Mihlali Ndamase to name a few, have all been through it, however, people need to realize that at the end of the day, the only people who are privy to the details of said “Tea” are those who were or are directly involved in said situation. Anything else is up for interpretation and can be misinterpreted to fit whatever narrative people want to push forward.

We need to understand the self-righteous morality that it instills in people and that it is in itself a flaw because no one is perfect, we all need to be accountable for our actions especially when spreading negativity and hate constantly as it really is counterproductive.

Having said that, I do not see this trend ending any time soon as it is a double-edged sword, more people are becoming socially aware of what they say and do in life and online but there needs to be a line drawn in the sand when it goes too far. Anyway that is just my opinion

Til next time P.

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