Cancel Culture

    

 

 THE BIRTH OF CANCEL CULTURE  

    After meeting a nice young lady at a newly established club, I wanted to make sure I established some kind of friendly contact with her as I had with other members on a one-on-one basis. At the third meeting I made it a point to go up to her after the meeting was over and ask, "When is your baby due?" She quickly informed me she was not pregnant. Her baby just turned 5 months old the other day and she has been struggling to lose her pregnancy weight. My only recovery was to tell her, she was rushing her body to spring back into shape too quickly. Give it a little more time. "Are you breast feeding? There's your problem. Women who breast feed drop pregnancy weight faster. Don't use those mothers as models." She smiled and felt better, but I felt like crap and made my retreat of embarrassment. 

    Relaying the episode to one of my daughters, she began to cringe at the "Are you pregnant?" part knowing the rest of the story before I finished. I told her "Hey! Not fair! You act like I do this type of thing all of the time. This was my first time." Not really true. But in the 56 years I have been on earth, I believe it is only my fourth time, or so. Pretty good record in my eyes. 

Everyone is familiar with the joke: Open mouth - insert foot. It is almost unavoidable if you walk, talk, and breathe on this earth; sooner or later you will put your foot in your mouth. The only good thing about these moments is they are seen or overheard on a small scale and would pass and be forgotten in time. Now enter the computer age. The advancement of Facebook, Twitter, and other online fast-paced media gives us an opportunity to make mistake after mistake on a global scale for all of eternity to read and witness. With just one finger and the push of one button we open our mouths and insert the universe.

     Before we have a chance to realize we have stepped in it, cancel culture is feverishly boycotting or calling for a person to be eliminated socially. Whoopie Goldberg just faced a 'cancel' moment with her comments about the Holocaust. Joe Rogan didn't have a misstep but had ongoing racist jokes and nonsense. IS THIS AN OPEN MOUTH INSERT FOOT MOMENT? No. It goes beyond just the embarrassing misstep or wrong assumption, but they did open their mouths and inserted their own body part to fill a gaping hole. 

     I have a Facebook account and I think about my posts. I wonder do I want what I am about to type to have a life well after I am dead, because cyberspace makes that possible. I try not to speak on things I do not know or make comments off of the cuff when one of my emotions is sparked. But just with the pregnancy fiasco, my time will come. The internet makes us feel larger than life, able to dance with scholars, artists, professionals, the devil, and the everyday man in words of wit, academia, and common sense. When we get it right it is good. People all over the world agree with us and tell us how smart we are. On the other hand, when we get it wrong, thousands descend to tell us we should not be allowed out in a free society with our opinions and comments. 

    So, today and every day, there will be someone with foot in mouth disease that I have cleverly penned "Phalanges Cybercitis" (feel free to make it hashtag trend). The population, I guess, should be on the lookout for the pandemic: "Phalanges Cybercitis." One finger, one button, and we join the ailing masses in which a successful vaccine has not yet been found for our syndrome of having to add our two cents worth on things we just should not be involved in. There is a Pulitzer Prize waiting for the person who can cure Phalanges Cybercitis.

    The upside of this affliction is sometimes we become 15 minutes famous and that is all we need to launch us into stardom. The business savvy person will capitalize on what was meant to destroy them and turn it into success. Some people try to use the model of being 'bad' only to turn out 'good'. We see this daily from the right side of the aisle of politics. Each person trying to be the most outrageous and offensive, to hell with reputation and dignity. Instead of viewing their foot in mouth as a bad thing they see it as a foot in the door.

     I don't know if my constitution can withstand a cancel culture moment. I hope I don't have to find out on a large scale because I barely survive embarrassment on a small scale in my small pond. but we never know what we are made of until we are tested. As a writer and author, I take a chance a chance putting my thoughts out in the public arena. some days I have 500 followers then after a post I have 490. Ouch! Someone didn't swoon over my wonderful writing. Did I step in it or on someone? Possibly. but that is a chance creative people have to take and comes with the job.

    I would love to hear your story of the time you inserted your foot into your mouth. Share this post with others and not live in our shame alone. Dear Brian had his moment yesterday with his post saying no one wants to see a woman posting her half naked pictures on social media. Yeah, they tore him a new one. but he had his 15 minutes and yes, I was jealous he trended. So let's see if we can get my humble post of humiliation and accidental spewing of words going today. SHARE RETWEET COMMENT TREND.