Cancel Culture and Why It's Toxic

As someone who has been living publicly on the internet for years now, there's always this pressure of trying to look perfect. May it be with how I present myself or with how I create content. I remember back then, when I would be on the last step of editing my videos and when it feels like it isn't up par to my standards, I discard the entire thing away, leaving me unproductive and insecure. It's only then when I got to collaborate with other artists that I learned to not put myself so much through the ringer. I need to allow room for mistakes for it's an avenue to grow. Through this realization, I allowed flaws in my content, which then led to people relating to me more because they see something that is part of their daily nuances. It has created a community where people celebrate imperfections as something beautiful for it is humane.

If you are a millennial, or even just someone who breathes internet air, you may have came across with the term "Cancel Culture". It's when an internet micro celebrity gets huge backlash resulting to a loss in their following count due to something bad that they did. Though I am a firm believer that people need to learn from their mistakes and get educated about it, I don't agree with totally canceling some of them. I think it's because I'm a creator myself and I know how hard it is to try to be perfect. It could also be with how I was raised as a kid, my mom have always taught me to be more empathetic towards others and share an open hand whenever someone needs help.

I once saw an interview about someone who has been publicly scrutinized for a wrong thing that they did and how it made their life into a living nightmare. If you're familiar with "Amalayer Girl", the one who's video went viral on the internet for shouting at a lady guard in one of the LRT stations in Manila, then that's the one I'm talking about. She lost her cool and completely flipped off. I don't condone whatever it is that she did but I also didn't like how that one video defined her whole life. As per the interview, her whole life turned completely upside down when that video made it on mainstream media. She lost friends and didn't had the courage to be out in public, causing her to lock herself up in her room. It led to depression up to to a point where she tried taking her own life. Even years passed, whenever she tried to look for jobs, companies wouldn't hire her because of that "Amalayer" video. It truly opened my eyes on how massive of an impact there is on to a person's lives once they get "cancelled". It's not just a social media slang but an extremely awful thing to experience knowing that not only do millions of people despise you, but also with how it can affect your professional and mental stability.

People make mistakes, it's what make us human. We are not and shouldn't be defined by a single thing that we made in the past. We are bound to grow, and part of it is failure. The internet is already filled with trolls and bashers, the least thing we could do is to be a more responsible user, and by that I mean being more empathetic towards the shortcomings of others, and giving them the support they need to reclaim what they have lost in the process. A healthy community is when people aren't afraid to clap for the success of others knowing that it's gonna be their turn soon. If someone completely turns their back on you once you committed a mistake, then they were never rooting for you in the first place. They were just waiting for you to fail and are excited to bite in once you do.

"God loves a cheerful giver", one of the many values my mom has taught me and my siblings. It's something that keeps us on track. It's rooted deep inside all of us and I'm proud that we were raised with such values. Being generous with our time and resources to others has helped me to be more empathetic and kind to people I meet--whether I feel like they deserve my help or not. It helps me see life in a more meaningful perspective. Peace is found once we set free of our grudges, our insecurities and our hatred. We are meant to blossom into beautiful creatures of hope, ones that bring light into the darkest of places.

So be a beacon of love!