| JCGamer55 said: It happened to me on Twitter one time. That social network is a mess, the environment is so toxic that people can try to "cancel" you for clout, twisting whatever you say in the most ridiculous ways. Case in point, I said that I thought that one turist spot in my city was overrated and somehow that turned into me trying to destroy the city's culture, according to some random people. I'm not even kidding. You just need a couple pseudo-influencers to insult you and then you have dozens and dozens of strangers insulting you basically just for fun. Its quite overwhelming. |
Social Media has such a tattle tale culture it's insane. They're always trying to make up reasons to tell on you to their followers and potential followers.
While I'd call what you're describing as "Cancel Culture" - a more modern label for ostracism and the culture behind it - I'm not particularly a fan of the term. So many have a different meaning for it. Some people think it means when you're a public figure and say something inflammatory and get the expected blowback for it. Others think it means getting banned from a social media platform for posting pro-Nazi propaganda. It's become just another buzz word devoid of meaning without explaining the context, which somewhat defeats the purpose of the label.
Technically, "Cancel Culture" isn't a new phenomenon, it's happened in every culture with a public square. In ancient Athens, where we get our term "ostracism" they would hold elections to ostracize people, and they'd be banished from Athens for 10 years. This was more of an anti-cult of personality implement to fight demagoguery during the democratic period. Part of it was specifically because of Peisistratos, an extremely popular war hero and demagogue who made himself the Tyrant of Athens... three times... One time he brought a very tall woman from the countryside and pretended she was Athena, and had her speaker declare him Tyrant... The people largely didn't believe it, but because it was such an outragerous thing, they overthrew the government and made him Tyrant. Another time, he faked being bullied and beaten by his political opponents, and was permitted to have a bodyguard in the city... although, he took many many bodyguards, enough that they stormed and seized the Acropolis and installed Peisistratos as Tyrant of Athens. So yeah, after his sons were overthrown by Cleisthenes, they brought in ostracism. Many people got ostracized... ironic, many of them relatives of Cleisthenes, the founder of the Athenian democracy, his nephew MEGACLES! got ostracized twice... twenty years of exile from Athens.
So, in other words, many claim Cancel Culture is a very undemocratic thing... the Athenian Greeks felt it was a defense of the democratic system against people who got too big for the culture.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
