As a Millennial, a worrying new trend among my generation is to simply cancel what you don’t like.
Sure, some things might be outdated and it isn’t for me to tell a private company what it can or can’t do with a product. But at times like this, I’m reminded of the phrase, “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
The early casualties of this cancel culture are beyond count. In the latest wave of childish insecurity, statues were the first to go. While some removals were reasonable, they quickly became ludicrous. Among the cancelled is now Abraham Lincoln for his crimes against slavery, Winston Churchill for being a fascist and soon perhaps Roman Emperor Constantine for not condemning slavery in the 4th Century.
Out of fear of being targeted, many firms have also decided to rebrand. Gone already are Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima, although I suppose that was only a matter of time – both brand’s images do have slavery connotations. Gone too is the ‘Redskin’ confectionary, renamed to avoid offending Native Americans – and now even Eskimo Pies are a casualty.
So, due to my anxiety of being cancelled by my own generation, I’ve been spit balling ideas that I could help cancel.
First on my list is tax. Tax is inherently discriminatory on the poor. It takes their hard-earned money so tax should be abolished. I mean, didn’t the magicians pushing Modern Monetary Theory say the Reserve Bank can just print infinite money anyway?
Not stopping there, I think university should also be cancelled. The effect it has had on my mental health is beyond repair. To save others from trauma we should just give everyone a degree in whatever they want.
Or, one better, why not just cancel jobs? After all, wouldn’t it be easier if the Government gave us a weekly allowance to have fun spend responsibly for the rest of our lives?
While I understand and even support some of this cancel culture, when does it go too far?
As much as we want a world in which everybody feels safe and secure, we are setting a dangerous precedent – one where we simply triage anything that offends us. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be aware of the atrocities of the past than be forced to forget them.