You have been canceled

Greta Thunberg, the twenty-year-old Swedish environmental activist known for her campaign for an immediate action for climate change tweeted last week “Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected”.

This led Israel’s education ministry to remove any reference to Thunberg in its school curriculum as a protest to Thunberg's statement.

This was an example of the cancel culture that is spreading mainly in the West but soon will reach elsewhere. So, what does cancel culture mean?

According to Wikipedia ‘Cancel culture’ is a phenomenon where a person is shunned or boycotted for speaking or acting in an unacceptable manner.

This shunning behaviour may extend to social or professional circles which could be in person or on social media or in person.

We often hear about a celebrity being canceled for expressing an opinion or acting in a certain way but more recently it has been reported outside the entertainment industry.

Put in simple words, cancel culture is nothing more than silencing people who disagree with the big power which is a clear attack on freedom of speech. Cancelling Thunberg is a good example of the double standards expressed by some Western countries since we have not seen a similar reaction when someone burnt the Quran or made offensive drawings of the Prophet Mohamed, peace be upon him, such acts where considered freedom of speech and the perpetrator got away with it.

According to Research, people who are being canceled feel isolated and rejected and may develop anxiety and depression. The canceling behaviour teaches others not to voice their opinions for fear of being canceled. We often see this during times of wars and political conflict where the mantra ‘you are either with us or against us’ becomes prominent.

This is where some TV interviews with Arab or Muslim politicians during the current war in Gaza start by asking the interviewee if he or she condemns Hamas while deliberately ignoring the impact of the war on the Palestinians.

This is a psychological move to distract the listeners from focusing on what the guest is going to say by directing attention to his personal opinion which although clear for many people who understand the history behind the conflict is not that clear to some people in the west who have been brainwashed over years about the promised land.

This tactic aims to discredit the guest in the eyes of the listeners even before he starts speaking.

People need to wake up and realise that cancel culture is not about an angry teenager who blocked his friend after an argument but a well-structured tactic from one party to dominate and tell others what to think and how to react.

In simple words, it’s a kind of return to the dark ages. Therefore we need to be aware of it and act in solidarity so we do not end up being brainwashed by big media outlets who have their own bias and only work for their interests regardless of any moral or ethical obligations toward other human beings.