Cancel culture has been an interesting beast. While many believe it was a creation of the left, I can’t help but think it was an inevitable side-effect of the creation of the internet. The left just got to it first. To say that the right hasn’t used cancel culture itself in the past would be dishonest, though I would say that the utilization of it by the right was (usually) far fairer and leveled.
A good example of this would be the right’s cancellation of Taylor Lorenz, a reporter who attempted to dox and intimidate the family of “Libs of TikTok” creator Chaya Raichik before she made herself known to the public. After Lorenz’s actions, the right made her name so toxic that even the Washington Post began tucking her into the background. However, what Republicans didn’t do was go after everyone associated with Lorenz outside of the Washington Post itself. When the left engages in cancel culture, they tend to go after the person, that person’s family, any business that deals with them, and their little dog too.
When cancel culture first arrived on the scene and the left was using it to punish indiscriminately, it was incredibly dangerous. In fact, the lingering fear of being canceled still keeps a lot of people in line from celebrities to corporations. However, even near the beginning, the weaknesses in cancel culture could be seen.
The first big example was the attempted cancelation of Chick-fil-A back in 2012. After what the left had deemed as “homophobic” sentiments from President Dan Cathy about biblical nuclear families, the left had a meltdown and began protesting Chick-fil-A restaurants with all the hatred and anger they could muster. Like many other businesses before them, they expected the Christian chicken sandwich chain to fold like a cheap suit. When they did no such thing, a counter-protest began that sent the restaurant’s sales into the stratosphere.
Cars would line up around blocks to support the chain and soon the left’s screams of anger were drowned out by the sound of jingling cash registers. It was the first sign to the general public that cancel culture had no chance of succeeding if the people didn’t want it to.
That didn’t stop cancel culture from claiming more scalps. Many businesses and people would bend their knees to the cancelation mobs, but as they did, the people grew more and more irritated with it.
Goya Foods would also benefit from an attempt at cancelation by the left after their owner expressed his support for President Donald Trump. AOC herself attempted to lead this boycott, only to find her over-hyped influence falling flat and Goya’s coffers rising swiftly.
(READ: Boycotts and You)
Then, there’s the most recent example of cancel culture giving a boost to business, the video game “Hogwarts Legacy.” The attempt at canceling the game and anyone who openly played it only served to hype the game to the point where it was considered one of the most successful launches in video game history. In fact, its success likely played a key role in Warner Bros. greenlighting an HBO Max Harry Potter reboot with author J.K. Rowling heavily involved.
Our society definitely suffers from cancel culture in many ways to this day, but it’s pretty clear that its use by the radical left has left people willing to assist those being canceled purely out of spite. If anything, spite is the main product of cancel culture, and it’s that weaponized spite that creates the antidote to cancel culture.
Bottom line: If you want to see your business succeed, piss off the activist left. Your wallet will get as fat as the people screaming curses at you.
