Last Updated on September 19, 2019
Cancel culture claims one of its own scalps as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes harsh criticism for repeatedly wearing blackface makeup.
Justin Trudeau says that the reason why he thought it was OK to wear blackface–at a time where it was more socially acceptable, in comparison to today’s stringent standards–was because his privilege prevented him from seeing the racism in his actions.
Trudeau–perhaps the most comical world leader in human history, with a catalog of gaffes and faux-pas’–is up for election in October.
The Canadian PM, who has been subject of much derisive criticism, has been under fire after three cases of wearing ‘blackface’ emerged.
Trudeau suggests he benefited from ‘layers of privilege’ which rendered him incapable of seeing the racism in his actions.
According to Sky News, Trudeau said that:
“…his choices had “hurt people” and that he had not talked about it before because “quite frankly, I was embarrassed”.
He added: “It is not something that represents the person I’ve become, the leader I try to be.”
“This is something I deeply, deeply regret,” he said.
“Darkening your face – regardless of the context or circumstances – is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface.
“I should have understood that then and I never should have done it.”
The problem with cancel culture–as an extension of progressive morality to weed out heretics–is within the temporal nature of progress.
As time goes on, certain views become unpalatable to the point where politically incorrect remarks made decades ago in private can be exhumed in the future to destroy the reputation of that wrongthinker.
Progress isn’t bound by the eternal–but narratives pertaining to a doctrine of change in relation to the preservation of power.
Hannah Arendt pointed out that when revolutionaries secured power, they, by necessity, must become a form of conservative in order to stay in power.
Progressives have a monopoly on truth–via narratives–and morality.
The doctrine of progress is culturally dominant; the media, entertainment, academia, major corporations, financial institutions, and government have all assimilated progress into their being.
Progress has been described as a secular religion in the face of the West’s decline of Christianity.
Certain behaviors of adherents of progress share strong similarities to metacultists.
Progressives are far likelier to unfriend people on social media and real life over political views.
Cancel culture is a form of ostracism to isolate, then extirpate, those who hold problematic views vis-a-vis a period in time in which those actions/sayings are considered ‘bad’ according to contemporary consensus.
Since progress isn’t anchored by eternal values, its values change at a whim to suit those in positions of power.
Progressive morality doesn’t exist to usher in a better society, rather it serves to protect those in power at the expense of others. If anything, Western society hasn’t reached new heights of togetherness. People tread on eggshells to avoid ruining their reputations for views at odds with the prevailing socially-accepted politics.
Its core tenets–tolerance, equality, anti-racism, social freedom, secularism–are superficially pleasant. However, in practice, extreme better-than-thou moralizing ensues, culminating in phenomena such as ‘cancel culture.’
Some conservatives, to their detriment, vociferously repudiate cancel culture for a variety of reasons. Sadly, despite their presumed intentions, won’t deter some progressives from doubling down on this beast.
Cancel culture and other forms of metapolitical witch hunts are very effective to ensure nobody drifts off the reservation.
As I have mentioned, every major private and public institution is imbued with progressive ideals, and are beholden to some public opinion.
Even if the long term effects of cancel culture can be mitigated for individuals/franchises affected; cancel culture is a form of mob-led show trial to instill social compliance for those who dare to think outside of the progressive paradigm.
And here we’ve reached the crux of the matter: so-called marginalized groups aren’t being directly protected by cancel culture, but power is.
Reddit deleted a ten-year-old tweet which cited a politically incorrect crime statistic in New York.
Despite the tweet’s veracity, the truth cowers timorously in the face of the progressive leviathan.
