Leo's Blog For Journalism

  Before we discuss Cancel Culture, we should first define what it is. In a way, each of us cancels people in their day to day life. If someone has a personality we find offensive, we spend less time with them than those whose personalities we find agreeable. If a friend tends to disagree with us on politics, we may consciously avoid discussing these issues. As the saying goes, don’t talk about politics at the Christmas table. We tend to be drawn to things that confirm our world view. While those identified as advocates of cancel culture are often accused of living in an “echo chamber” where only their views can be heard, the truth is that many humans live in a chamber like this. The purpose of this blog is not to defend this behavior, but to show how it can lead to larger cultural issues such as cancel culture. In class, we discussed the idea of an outrage culture that encourages people to react emotionally to people expressing opinions they dislike. In the world of public relati...

Digital communication has made it easier to get mad at each other than ever before. We can say things we would never say to people in person and can tune off if they give a response. We avoid the consequences of in-person confrontation. For no subject matter is this as true for partisan politics. While the tension between political parties has existed, digital technology seems to have accelerated in recent times, spreading it to other areas of life. Political parties are semi-public organizations . For most of us, they function as a form of categorization. If we like certain policies, having a political organization that officially endorses them makes it easier to make sure they’re implemented. If we like one particular politician and need to vote for another one, political parties can be a useful way of tracking down that person. The issue with this categorization: it creates a shortcut for determining what to believe is right. Finding the truth is complicated. It takes work and effor...