Goal
Today, I discuss the dangers of cancel culture and the mob. Then, I offer advice on how to prepare for both.
Table of Contents
- What is Cancel Culture?
- How Do You Deal With Cancel Culture?
- Don’t Let The Mob Catch You Unprepared
- Actionables
What Is Cancel Culture?
Cancel Culture “is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person.”
Why Is Cancel Culture Used?
Cancel culture rarely harms evil individuals. If the mob respects you, they will not attack you, even if your beliefs and actions are deplorable.
Cancel culture is a tool utilized by the mob to enforce pre-approved behaviors. The mob never “cancels” anyone truly evil: war criminals are celebrated, lying health officials receive documentaries, and abusive individuals are protected. No, cancel culture is utilized against outsiders, outliers, and the virtuous.
The average person does not want to be reminded the narratives they gleefully consume from the ruling classes, and elites are false or misleading. These narratives are valuable because they inflate the ego of the average person or justify their poor behavior. Deceptive narratives include “healthy at any size,” individuals are heroes for supporting the breakdown of society because of a non-deadly virus, or that societal dysfunction is caused by “privileged groups” instead of those who commit dysfunctional acts.
In conclusion, cancel culture is used to cut individuals from society’s resources in the hope that dissidents will stop criticizing our unhealthy cultural narratives.
How Do You Deal With Cancel Culture?
“Being alone never felt right. sometimes it felt good, but it never felt right.” – Charles Bukowski
If you have aberrant thoughts about our current social order, you will be attacked. These attacks can lead to “canceling” or a dramatic ostracism from society.
Therefore, it’s crucial to prepare your body and mind for what may be inevitable.
1) Admit Where You Are
The culture of individual liberty and responsibility is no longer present in the West.
The West is in decline. Individual responsibility is not a cultural value. All that matters is flexing victimhood and profiting from disenfranchisement.
You may believe being “normal” will save you, but it will not. Most people are deranged, spiritually ill, and greedy. They will attack you for criticizing their vices or for improving your virtues.
Weak individuals will not let you “live and let live.” No matter where you turn, the destruction of your culture, from broken families to dying economies, is staring you in the face. And if you speak out against it, even prudently, you will be attacked.
You must understand. You do not live in a rational, nuanced culture. Weak individuals are numerous, and they are not patient, respectful, or kind. They have no emotional control. They are full of bitterness and resentment and will destroy everything you are to satisfy their brokenness.
2) Build Your Community
One of the best protections from cancel culture is cultivating a smaller, more loyal community built on virtue. Society at large is full of liars. However, you can always find people who know your heart and will support your virtues, even if you don’t have “popular opinions.”
Within this community, seek people who can provide you with employment opportunities. Additionally, seek individuals who will stand up for you and be on your side if the mob comes down hard. Never ally with spineless individuals.
How do you start? By cultivating virtue in yourself. Learn new skills and seek religious and voluntary communities for support.
However, you must remember you have to do the same for virtuous people. You have to stand up for them and support them when the mob is on the attack. The more you are willing to do this, the more likely you will find allies who will always help you.
3) Reduce Your Vices
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway
The fewer vices you have, the fewer things you have to pay for. Your vices, while pleasurable, always have a cost. For example, your vice of eating junk food drains your wallet, makes you unhealthy, and messes with your mind. Now couple that addiction with a job lost because you posted something spicy on Facebook.
Therefore, reduce, eliminate, and fiercely regulate your vices. They are drains on your life. Stop eating poorly, wasting too much time with video games and TV shows, and avoiding your responsibilities. The more focused you are, the more virtuous you become, the easier it is to withstand the horrors of cancel culture.
4) Invest In Yourself
Lastly, you have to develop your skills and behaviors. Once you regulate and eliminate your vices, you can focus on improving yourself. The more skills you grow, the easier it is to drift from your industry to another or strike it out independently. The stronger you are, the more confident you will feel when things start falling apart.
Therefore, develop your skills. Look over your talent list. What can you do, and what can you learn how to do? How can your hobbies be used to bring in income, even a tiny amount? How healthy are you, and what can you do to improve your health?
The more you invest in yourself, the stronger you become and the easier it is to stand outside the mob, even when they attack you.
Don’t Let The Mob Catch You Unprepared
Prepare for the worst. The mob is always searching for new victims.
Individualism’s strength is its ability to empower each individual. In a society of strong individuals, we can have difficult discussions about essential topics. We can also live more efficiently because power-hungry tyrants don’t drive our civilization to devalue saving, personal responsibility, and virtue.
I believe this topic is essential because we do not live in the perfect world I described. We are not a society of individualists willing to live and let live as we pursue ours and others’ virtuous ends. We live in a civilization of scared, broken people who attack at the first sign of light.
So, prepare yourself. You will never be flawlessly prepared, but you can always work towards perfection. Don’t wait. If you can spare more time towards saving, exercising, learning, and improving, then do so.
Don’t let the mob catch you unaware.
Actionables
“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” – Mother Teresa
- Are you afraid of being canceled?
- Do you know anyone who has been canceled? How have they been?
- I would advise leaving social media. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. are places where mentally ill individuals go around ruining the lives of others for little to no reason.
- What difficult conversations would you like to have if you didn’t have to worry about social norms that limit meaningful debate and discussion?
Please remember that it’s important to do the actionables. You’re not on this earth to simply read but to do. To become an individual, you must act more than you consume.
*Image credit to Unsplash.
