Cancel Culture, Canceled

Every day there is a new outrage. Some quite justified; the world is full of terrible things. But often I read online comments and don’t see justifiable anger at injustice, but instead mockery, pride, and hate.

Lately I’ve grown really tired of cancel culture. A public figure does something bad. Or a public figure did something bad decades ago and it’s just now brought to the public. Or a private citizen does something bad and becomes a public figure because of those actions.

Immediate indignation. Immediate judgement. Immediately #canceled.

There is no appeal in the court of public opinion. There isn’t even a trail. The case is read and judgement made. This person did X, so they are unredeemable. They are excommunicated. Don’t befriend them. Don’t work with them. Don’t ever let them forget what they’ve done. It seems alright to bully someone if they once bullied, to threaten if they once threatened, to hurt if they once hurt.

Now, often X truly is a terrible thing. But it’s rarely a “ruin their life, get them fired, get them expelled, harass their family, threaten their life” level of terrible. It’s easy to lay out a few, quick facts, make a judgment, and share your verdict online. These aren’t real people; they are online characters, tokens of a cultural battle, representations of our political allies or enemies. Besides, they deserve it, right? The law won’t punish them, so society will.

There is some good in such actions. Societies should call out deplorable behavior and reinforce moral standards. It is our job as members of a community to hold each other accountable. There should be accountability for spreading evil ideas and consequences for committing evil actions.

But cancel culture leaves no room for mercy. There is no forgiveness. If the person in the hot seat repents, few will accept it as contrite. Even if an apology is deemed contrite, it is not good enough, too late, and doesn’t change the verdict. The sentence is persona non grata, forever haunted by their past. No one is ever really redeemed.

The mob says it’s ok to hurt someone if they hurt someone else first. It’s ok to fight as long as you’re fighting back. It’s ok to dehumanize and be ruthless to someone as long as they deserve it.

How fortunate we are that God does not work like that. God wants to forgive, to love, to reconcile. No matter our sins, God will forgive a contrite heart. You confess, resolve to sin no more, and are redeemed before Him. You are not shunned or haunted, you are welcome and purified. Mercy does not give us what we deserve; it gives us what God wants for us.

Our sins hurt us and others and should be brought to light. But not so we can be mocked and shamed, but so we can cast off those chains and heal. How much better would we be if we held one another accountable while also loving each other? What if instead of passing along the pride and pain, we just stopped it?