Cancel culture, also known as call-out culture, is the practice of shunning, rejecting and ostracizing an individual because of actions deemed worthy of cancellation by media, fans or the general public. I think we can all agree that it has finally gone too far. 

Most recently cancel culture was criticized by TIME’s Person of the Year nominee and Emmy winner, New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

Recently, Cuomo has been under heat after several allegations of sexual harassment have been made and growing pressure from both political sides for him to resign. 

In a recent press conference, Cuomo said he’s not going to resign, saying people know the difference between “playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth.” 

Cancel Culture can be difficult to pin down, as it can be hard to know who is propagating it, but it is generally considered to be the creation or adaptation of lefitst ideologies. For example, Chuck Todd of NBC’s “Meet the Press Host,” called cancel culture a “Fox News talking point,” suggesting it is a talking point used by the right to critique the left. He made this comment several days ago, when speaking about Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations after Cuomo made his comment criticizing cancel culture. 

Cancel culture has also been called out by prominent figures from both sides of the aisle, including former president Donald Trump. 

Trump called Cancel Culture “the very definition of totalitarianism.”

Former president Barack Obama described cancel culture as a “danger” that is “accelerated by social media.” Obama also gave a warning to young progressives. 

“This idea of purity and you’re never compromised and you’re always politically woke and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly,” Obama said. “The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids and share certain things with you.”

Cancel culture began with the idea of trying to “demand greater accountability from public figures,” as Merriam Webster describes it with the “cancellation” of public figures such as Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly for their sex-crimes. It has, however, spiralled further and further out of control as books, tv shows, toys, names of sports teams and many other seemingly innocent things have been deemed necessary for cancellation. 

If you want to watch “Gone with the Wind” on HBO Max, you’ll be met with a disclaimer saying that the movie “denies the horrors of slavery.” 

If you want to use the phrase “mom and dad” at Grace Church School in New York, you will be cited as stereotyping and using hate speech. The school has made a comprehensive list of all words that should be avoided, including mom, dad, boy, girl, ladies and gentlemen. 

If your children want to watch “Robin Hood,” “Dumbo,” “The Aristocats,” or “Swiss Family Robinson” on their Disney+ account, then you’ll have to let them use your account because they have all been deemed unacceptable for children because of “negative cultural depictions, particularly racist stereotypes”. 

If you want a copy of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” then you can pick one up at your local library or bookstore, but if you want one of the six recently canceled Dr. Seuss books, you’ll be out of luck because they have been taken off bookshelves across America for the use of “racist imagery.” 

Mr. Potato Head is non-inclusive, Speedy Gonzalez is promoting racist sterotypes, the former Washington Redskins name is considered racially insensitive, the Muppets includes racist stereotypes, Pepé Le Pew promotes rape, and the list goes on and on. 

You can now be canceled for tweets made years ago, like incoming “Teen Vogue” editor, Alexi McCammond, who is now no longer receiving the position because she has been cancelled for tweets made when she was 17, nearly 10 years ago. 

You can now not only be canceled for attending a fraternity party with the theme of wearing antebellum era dresses you attended three years ago, as former Bachelor star, Rachel Kirkconnell, will tell you. You can also be cancelled just for asking for people to have some grace, like long-time host of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” Chris Harrison did. 

Matt James, co-star of “The Bachelor,” who was dating Kirkconnell, originally defended her on February 3. 

“I have not spoken to anyone since the show ended, but I would say that you have to be careful about what you say on social media,” James said. “Rumors are dark and they’re nasty and they can ruin people’s lives, so I would say give them the benefit of the doubt.” 

It was eventually found that she had attended an antebellum-themed party where she dressed up in a dress similar to that of one that would be worn in that time period. James quickly caved to the pressure and rejected Kirkconnell, even after she quickly apologized for these actions deemed racist by the “social justice warriors” who felt the need to cancel Kirkconnell for her previous actions.  

By attending this party, Kirkconnell must clearly be racist, even if she was dating James, who is an African American, and if you’re Harrison asking for grace for Kirkconnell, you must also be racist.

In contrast, the Coca-Cola company’s new training program was recently revealed, telling employees to “be less white.” The training video made other statements such as “to be less white means being less ignorant, being less oppressive, and being less arrogant.” The Coca-Cola company, however, has yet to receive any backlash from proponents of cancel culture. 

Americans and others around the world are starting to take note of the toxic, hypocritical and unforgiving nature of cancel culture. A recent attempt to cancel “Good Morning Britain” co-host Piers Morgan because of comments he made on Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey have failed. 

“I don’t believe anything Markle said, and if people want to believe it, then that is entirely their right,” Morgan said. “I think the damage (Markle has) done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in the hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible. If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.” 

Piers Morgan promptly quit “Good Morning Britain” after facing harsh criticism from his colleagues and some viewers. “Good Morning Britain” viewership has tanked following Morgan’s departure, losing 40% of all it’s viewers since Morgan left the show. 

Other recent examples of people fighting back against cancel culture include several Dr. Seuss books topping the Amazon bestselling list since their cancellation. HBO has also restored “Gone with the Wind” to the service after pressure to return it to its library of movies. Additionally, the ratings for “The Bachelor” have dropped by more than 1 million viewers per episode since the Kirkconnell and Harrison controversy began. 

Anyone can be canceled at any time for any reason, and people have started taking notice of the toxicity of cancel culture. Cancel culture has gone too far, and we are all finally starting to realize it.