Cancel Culture, Nationalism, & Xenophobia

THE SECURITY TECHNIQUES OF CLIQUES AND OF NATIONS

Feminist Scribe®

Feminist Scribe

Amongst an endless expanse of social ideology, society’s root foundation is based on a system of perceived ingroups and outgroups: whether it be the city or regional borders that delineate the difference between an outgroup and ingroup or the inner pieces of a social clique consisting of a group of individuals highly similar to one another and dissimilar to other groups. Inversely, the objectification and hierarchy of identities mirror the ideological hierarchy of ideologies, being an expression of society’s inherent egocentric nature. Historically, ideologies are born from human instinct: the instinct to belong, to be liked, to learn from others, and to conform to become or remain a part of a group, satisfying our developmental need to be safe and cared for, and to survive. Evolutionary psychology tells us that this instinct and our participation in a stable group provide us with basic survival tools: food, shelter, and protection from attack by those within and without (Over, 7). Often, the more sophisticated the behavior, the more developed the ideology of a particular group will be. In Plato’s Republic, the philosopher talks about democracy and the nature of political consciousness.

“Historically, othering and dividing people into us/them has been achieved through many categories: wealth, class, land ownership, religion, skin color, and more. But whose survival matters and who decides this?…..

Once there is us/them, another binary easily emerges insider/outsider. This often layers on the us/them binary so that the ‘us’ usually equals insiders and ‘them’ outsiders… Insider/outsider is a little different than us/them though. In many ways, it can be more nuanced. We might be incredibly close to someone and consider them part of ‘us’- our family, our people, or our community. Then, something happens; maybe we have a different experience, which puts them outside and us inside.” (this could pertain to cancel culture)

Life Isn’t Binary: On Being Both, Beyond, and In Between Chapter 3 Relationships. Pgs 99, 101

The notion of ingroups and outgroups (and the relative comfort of the in-group and social survival mechanisms developed by the out-group) architects the nature of social structures, both small and large. From social cliques to geopolitical treaties- cancel culture, austerity, and war, what is the cause and effect of these stances? The cancelation of an individual within a social stratum creates for others a no-go zone, a person and a social area that is no longer accessible without taking on a stigma oneself and perhaps becoming a member of that very same outgroup; exiled. Proximity is then equated to being fundamentally Problematic. Thus, a gap is created, social or physical, marking a divide. Cancel culture reads like an immune response, where access is revoked to those who display an element the ingroup finds objectionable.

What determines the accession of a person into a group is the degree of their previous intimacy with the other members of the group. The more well-known one was in the group, the easier it is for them to access the inner circle of that group. In addition, personal connections provide a boost to their relative status within the group; the more they are known, the higher their social standing is. This hierarchy of social status is underlined in marginalized spaces where those relational connections become necessary in securing safety by searching for sameness, and protection via the connection.

Photo by mostafa meraji on Unsplash

Similarly, cultural sameness (the ways we are brought up, the values instilled in us by elders and fostered by peer interactions, traditions that unify us, and a sense of right and wrong) can create that understanding and connection with those within our culture. Strong values and a dedication to a culture’s beliefs can lead to prosperity and overall well-being within that nation — but what happens when those values become exclusionary to those outside of that culture or nation? Xenophobia becomes the status quo and our complacency ensues. This translates to the jeopardization and marginalization of the given outgroup. From domestic nationalism to international nationalism. Food deserts, redlining, the disparity in the global south, and lack of compassion for refugees. These are some of the dangers of nationalism.

In geopolitics, placing sanctions on a nation reduces that nation’s capacity to operate correctly. Sanctions are an alternative to or part of a war that can have drastic effects on the citizens of a nation and the nation itself. The cancelation of an individual within a social sphere creates a kind of sanctions or even a shunning of that individual within society as a whole. Cancel culture acts as an alternative to incarceration but also as an alternative to restorative or transformative justice (restorative justice is between two individuals and transformative justice is between an individual and a community). Cancelation, a sort of social sanction and imposed consequence, can be placed on an individual, often for others’ safety in society. How does one create long-term solutions via cancellation versus or with rehabilitation? To what extent is a person considered irredeemable? Is there also potential for harm to be co-created by those ousting their perpetrators to the outsides of society under the guise of transformative justice without the potential for accountability practices?

‘The prison industrial complex is perhaps the most fundamental democratic institution.’ — Angela Davis, Portland Book Festival 2017

Political, legal, and jurisprudence definitions often associate prison with the state or government as an institution. However, this is not always the case; human prisons can exist in each person’s heart, mind, and soul. Thus, the cancellation of an individual plunges them into a human prison — one within themselves as well as placing social and economic sanctions on them within society. While institutional prisons are environmentally temporal portrayals of policing, social cancellation can create a permanent environment of insecurity and desertion from the community. This makes cancellation more socially efficient in barring these persons from the resources to redemption. It

Prisons in the United States have incarcerated over 500,000 individuals in the “war on drugs.” This has not just been the source of a multitude of previous and recent abuses against incarcerated people but has set the stage for new, permanent punishments against disenfranchised minorities in the United States.

If one has a choice of action in life, then there are both logical and imposed consequences for each of one’s actions. The inverse of this is that one is affected by the actions of others. The ability to enforce consequences gives the power of control over an individual to a governing or administrative force. In the criminal justice system, this often looks like incarceration. Within society and in internet circles, this can look like cancellation, often by decentralized means, but also by social and conventional media. In geopolitics, this can look like negotiations, sanctions, or war. How does one keep their need for control over others in check, and where does the rationalization of punishment exceed the cause?

In nationalist border towns, culture is only as stable as the ideas and beliefs that construct it. (expand on how the definition of culture is related to ideas and beliefs) Xenophobia can include fears regarding immigration and the resettlement of refugees, or for instance, it can be fear of cultural differences within one’s own country. One’s dishonesty with self and one’s interdependence with others can combine, correlate, or cause these fears. It can manifest itself in aversion towards the unknown, ridicule of those different from oneself, and a general inability to recognize the harm inflicted on others. (Potential to speak on individualism and its role in upholding these characteristics)

The canceled outgroup and the ingroup allies (Allies to the canceled? Expand/Define)- political and social structures are founded on this fundamental idea, (which fundamental idea, division or deviation from a homogenous sense of self and others?) driving what makes us human and constructing and reproducing societies. We are all made up of social groups, from family to colleagues to tribes to the voluntary associations of human beings. However, if the higher-up social structure is based on a common vision or shared culture, then what that shared culture might be depends on what social structure we take to be primary. Thus, for example, to state the unassailable claim that one culture is superior to another is often flawed at best, unless one compares the likes of Rape Culture to Consent Culture, for instance.

Cancel culture is one way that the groups marginalize specific populations. It is a set of practices and discourses that rely on disempowering someone else — erasing their agency, and rendering them socially and economically incapacitated. The rate that this is embedded and increasingly seen within already marginalized groups to further demonstrate and enact power within their communities is empowering at best and policing at worst.

The derogatory use of the phrase Karen white women have used this instance of insult to compare themselves to socioeconomically disadvantaged persons either to create a false sense of sameness in struggle or to seek consolation. But also, the use of a genuine name of many people — including Black women- is perhaps so overtly misogynistic that it somehow subverts our attention as we fight against racism. However, the detrimental effects of the psyche are there, further ingraining patriarchy and misogyny into society. Why cannot one describe another as they truly are: an entitled white woman, or an entitled hostile white woman? We need to spend less time finding derogatory terms for each other and more time saving the world together by destroying existing toxic systems and replacing them with circular, regenerative systems and resource distribution methods.

The use of the titles “abuser” and “predator”

: are the persons who have been harmed allowed the autonomy to decide those titles in the same way that the terms “survivor” and “victim” are a personal choice to identify with? Is either abuser or predator a word that helps justify the cancellation that ensues? How are the words associated with those who Rape or Sexual Assault/ Target others further avoid the social responsibility of prevention through educational or communal work? How does individualism play into Rape Culture and Consent Culture?

Feminist Scribe

Written by Abigail Jamison Clark, ET AL.

SOURCES AND NOTES

Behavioral and evolutionary social psych: The Origins of Belonging full article by Harriet Over

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4685518/

Cancelation of entitled white women caught on camera

The derogatory use of the phrase Karen white women have used this instance of insult to compare themselves to socioeconomically disadvantaged persons either to create a false sense of sameness in struggle, or to seek consolation. But also, the use of a genuine name of many people — including Black women- is perhaps so overtly misogynistic that it somehow subverts our attention as we fight against racism. However, the detrimental affects the psyche is there, further ingraining patriarchy and misogyny into society. Why cannot one describe another as they truly are: an entitled white woman, or entitled hostile white woman. We need to spend less time finding derogatory terms for each other and more time saving the world together by destroying existing toxic systems and replacing them with circular, regenerative systems and resource distribution methods with a universal basic income provided by Updraft WealthShare. This basic income will supplement some or all of the costs of Updraft One and Updraft Pro subscriptions.

Cancelation of racist people caught on camera

Cancelation of sexual perpetrators and abusers

The use of the titles “abuser” and “predator” are the persons who have been harmed allowed the autonomy to decide those titles in the same way that the terms “survivor” and “victim” are a personal choice to identify with? Is either abuser or predator a word that helps justify the cancellation that ensues? How are the words associated with those who Rape or Sexual Assault/ Target others further avoid the social responsibility of prevention through educational or communal work? How does individualism play into Rape Culture and Consent Culture?

Do we separate an artist’s work from their wrongdoings? (I recommend talking with Qualeasha Wood about this. She gives a nuanced look into this especially in re: to musical artists. And is an artist herself. It would be interesting to see the differences and similarities in how artists answer this question versus persons who do not create in a self identified artistic manner)

Michael Jackson?

Ethan Kath of Crystal Castles?

Hot Sugar?

Shia Lebouf?

Cancelation of businesses for ethics violations

Condé Nast

Cancelation of musical artists for being problematic as opposed to abusive

Lana Del Rey

Ingroups and outgroups, riffing on narratives around some of Chloe Wise’s work like her show “It’s Not That We Don’t”

Social hygiene

Affinity groups

Nationalism and austerity

Border walls: US/Mexico, Berlin, US/Canada

Xenophobia

Mexican immigrants There is intense othering and moral judgement that is incised by eurocentric and white passing immigrants who deny the added racism, colorism, and political challenges that Mexican immigrants bear. Their motives, methods, and trials are devalued within the hierarchy of immigrants who attain “better” jobs or immigrated “the right way” via political and social structures that have created inequity.

Refugees in Europe

Immigration

Zapatistas

Local militias south of the border fighting against drug lords because police are bought out by them and there’s intense violence

https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-mexico-vigilante-armies-are-fighting-drug-cartels-but-whose-side-are-they-really-on (DailyBeast is far right website)

Police and police abolition

Micro — community, Macro — state (what about large, stateless communities?)

https://www.instagram.com/_surviving_toothtaker_/?hl=en

“We Will Not Cancel Us” book http://adriennemareebrown.net/2018/05/10/we-will-not-cancel-us/

Re: transformative justice: do you make community guidelines/laws? Or is that too close to the guidelines of the state?

https://urdoingreat.com/an-essay. https://www.instagram.com/urdoingreat/?hl=en

https://urdoingreat.com

Free speech as a guise for hate speech

Anti-hate speech leading to censorship

Pewdiepie’s cancellation for hate speech and also cancellation for accountability for hate speech.

Pewdiepie has 109 million subscribers. 10 times the population of Sweden.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2019/09/12/pewdiepie-almost-gets-cancelled-by-the-toxic-fringe-of-his-fanbase-backtracks/?sh=1338e0407228

David Dobrik canceled by association/being the leader of a youtube channel where someone was raped on set. ‘Denies wrongdoing’ — did this character quality of denying responsibility contribute to his cancelation?

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56486137

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/david-dobrik-controversy-explained-vlog-squad-apology-and-latest-news

Looking at the ways in which people being canceled are deciding accountability for themselves.

Community canceling as accountability.

What structure can keep us free and safe at the same time? Is that possible? Freedom vs. safety and security

How do communities decide on their rules? Is it lawless?

What is the container we can make that holds us the way we want to be held?

Healing Justice, Prentis Hemphill: https://prentishemphill.com/healing-justice.

Establishing our boundaries, assuming other people’s boundaries, checking in.

Strategies for accountability that emerge through community cancellations:

Deplatforming, removing a harmful person from a social group, organizing around ethics.

Strategies post incidents that are not making accountability:

Denial of the claims, blaming the victim.

Organizing around ethics.

Communally generated ethics.

Our vital signs: are feedback and honesty (candid speech)

If our organization is an organism or body, those are our vital signs

Although youtube or social media communities are larger than micro-communities, they still aren’t organized like a state or country/government body.

“The security techniques of cliques and of nations”

Cancel culture;

Usually justified, the issue is when it isn’t understood what has happened. Labeling and canceling based on limited information or hearsay. One person sanctioning people. Checks and balances.

For rape; a good tool to keep the community safe where police fall short. A signal to the community that someone has caused harm and not taken the appropriate measures to be accountable.

Cancellations can catch through hearsay, whispers, etc without being officially tried by a social group/addressing with a social group. Eagerness to establish who’s in the in-group and who’s in the out-group. A sense of togetherness is shared based on the fact that others are being excluded. Collective exclusion.