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  • Essay / Analyzing the Politics of “Cancel Culture” in the Philippines

    With just 280 characters, a Twitter user can start a trend, tell a story, and spark a movement. As we end a year filled with economic crises and leadership during a pandemic, we examine how social media has increased a range of issues, some arguably worth your money more than others. So, what are the debates and discussions that have the Filipino social media community humming?Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay With the ongoing pandemic constantly changing our lifestyles, it becomes exhausting to watch the news or check social media updates regarding COVID-19. This pandemic has not only brought more attention to deep-rooted underlying issues in our society, but it has also exposed several leaders, businesses, and even celebrities to serious misconduct. The degree of misbehavior these people have committed could lead to their lives being canceled by the online mob. Before we delve deeper into the matter, it's important to understand what it means for someone to be canceled. According to Dictionary.com, cancel culture "refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support from public figures and businesses after they do or say something considered objectionable or offensive." In the most extreme cases, those canceled have seen their careers end. This phenomenon emerged in 2019 when numerous incidents involving celebrities committing crimes or problematic behavior on social media. Although Cancel Culture is a fairly widespread phenomenon, especially in our online communities, we must remember not to confuse it with call-out culture. Call-out culture is the process by which people report (or “call out”) when someone has done something you consider inexcusable. This differs from cancel culture because cancel culture takes a further step after calling someone out, which is to figuratively remove a person from society, hence the use of the term "cancel". Although the call-out culture proves that an individual must face the consequences of their wrongdoing and be held accountable for their actions; Cancel culture can prove detrimental to the accused in the long run. The downside to promoting cancel culture is that it doesn't give the wrongdoer the opportunity to correct themselves. This does not allow evildoers to grow beyond their mistakes. Those who are victims of this type of culture have no way to come back from their mistake and redeem themselves, because the masses, figuratively speaking, "remove" them from society. An example of call-out culture in the Philippine context is the history of the popular Filipino people. singer-songwriter Yeng Constantino – who was criticized online because of a particular vlog she posted discussing an event she experienced with her husband at a hospital in Siargao. Constantino highlighted the lack of preparation and professionalism of the hospital staff in her vlog, leading netizens to denounce her for "humiliating doctors" and ignoring the fact that they were in a provincial hospital, which could be missing. certain services and certain personnel to which she may be accustomed. On the other hand, we can also see many examples of cancel culture in our country. Aside from the most recent incident with Cookies by the Bucket CEO, Philippine politics.