The cost of cancellation
Socially shaming someone who transgresses against the collective might be one of the most human things we do. It is very home sapiens of us to use social status as the stick to control the behaviour of those who we deem as threatening. But how effective is it really as a means of controlling human behaviour?
Being shunned only packs a punch when the shunner is in a position of influence and power. Sometimes a cancellation can backfire and be the best thing that could happen to someones’ career. If Justin Trudeau or Donald Trump read these words and then warned their followers of how awful or dangerous they were I would for sure face some significant backlash but it would most likely be a net positive for my readership and revenue. In the summer of 2023, left wing activists tried to discredit the child trafficking movie, “The Sound of Freedom” which ended up drawing much more attention to it and driving ticket sales beyond expectations. When we talk about the cost of getting cancelled it depends largely on who is doing the cancelling and how much power in the social economy they wield.
When the hammer of depersoning is swung by a formidable force the destruction can be significant. Richard Bilkszto retired as a principal in Ontario in 2019. He was recognized as a champion for public education in particular in the realm of adult education. He excelled in educating people who struggled with mental health as well as those who were new to the country. After allegedly being targeted and “bullied” by the KOJO institute, the equity consultants hired by the Toronto District School Board, it led Richard to experience “severe mental distress”. His entire career of successfully advocating for all students and advancing education was brought in to question. While there are many details that remain unknown and unreported, on July 13, 2023 Richard succumbed to the stress of his cancellation and died by suicide.
There are countless stories of cancellations and public ostracization that could be sited. It has become all too familiar and common that scarlet letters be branded onto the heathens of the day. Critics argue that this is just social justice. It’s a reckoning for harmful acts that would have otherwise been ignored or even accepted in the recent past and most people who are cancelled are privileged enough to withstand a few online criticisms. What’s the big deal?
One reason why getting cancelled can deal such a heavy blow comes from the “brain energy theory” of mental and metabolic health, coined by Harvard psychiatrist Chris Palmer. In brief, our metabolism generates and manages the flow of energy in our body, like traffic in a city. When there is a breakdown in “traffic” problems arise. In our bodies, our brains take up almost a quarter of all the energy requirements right off the bat, so if our energy is chronically low or misfiring it’s our brain, or our mental health that takes the most significant hit. The thing about our metabolism is that it can’t focus on being healthy when survival is threatened, but this includes our social survival. When our social status is threatened it has similar effects as when our physical safety is threatened. We can’t sleep, we lose our appetites, and we have no energy to maintain the other vitals parts of our body, leading to increase risk of illness and disease and further mental health problems.
Having our social status threatened diverts energy away from important body and brain functions, leading to a figurative and literal breakdown. Getting cancelled can be drastically bad for our mental and physical health and while there is certainly hope for recovery it is not always guaranteed.
Of course there is also the loss of income, relationships, and self esteem that comes from the actual cancellation. Sure the teacher who gets fired for wrong think can get a job somewhere else but what may inquisitors don’t realize is that in today’s age, bad press can follow you anywhere and into any career path. There are many highly qualified people who have a hard time getting work, even menially outside of their industry, because the smell of cancellation precedes them. Employers fear bringing negative attention to their organization, even if they are hiring Billy Joe to sweep the popcorn off the floor.
Certain mobs have so much power and they want to see the “cancelled” completely erased. At least that is what we fear. We fear that the mob has the power to close down our shop because we decided to hire someone who is recovering from the consequences of a bad decision. With social media, it has never been easier to target a person or organization for doing something you disagree with.
But this can change. We can opt out of the social racketeering. When we let it known that in this community we give second chances and we don’t believe everything we read online, we disarm the mob of their main weapon of choice. Perhaps that’s why it is important to watch the movie or shop at the store that they are trying to cancel. Just to show them that their efforts will not only be fruitless but paradoxically beneficial to the cause they are trying to bring down.
Give me the list of the books you want to burn and the songs you want censored and that will immediately go to the top of my Wishlist. Once it is made clear that cancellations don’t work, that the costs for engaging in one will not be worth the outcomes, then maybe we can end the McCarthyism like reign of terror that has defined this decade.