By TeaBag.
(Disclaimer: All thoughts expressed in this article are entirely my own and do not represent BNN as a company or any individual in particular)
Well…
Let’s get controversial for a bit.
I woke up and somewhere along the Youtube rabbit hole I came across some Jubilee videos on cancel culture.
They really got me thinking…
Is cancel culture really necessary?
Do we really see the victims of cancel culture as people too despite the mistakes they made?
I mean… to err is human,
right?
No one is perfect.
When you really think about it, this is what cancel culture sounds like:
“I don’t really agree with your opinion on something… and so I’ll take away the platform you use to pass that message, so others don’t listen to your message.”
At least that’s the type I’ve seen here.
Think about it for a second…
Think about yourself as a child.
You probably learnt not to play with fire then.
And this probably happened when you touched something hot.
Right?
It gave you a scab or a mark or something, right?
And that’s how you learnt from your mistakes.
You were able to grow from them.
Now what cancel culture does in my opinion is douse petrol all over then young you.
Not so fun learning about fire ey?
The absurdity of cancel culture can also be equated to chopping off the whole arm over a small cut on your finger.
You cannot win a game of chess by flipping the entire board.
You look at your opponents moves,
Study,
Asses…
Play.
And that’s what makes the game fun.
Explaining cancel culture in the example of the Jesus trials.
Well if we’re going to use examples of cancel culture,
Let’s use one of the biggest influencers in history.
Jesus Christ.
(History does always repeat itself)
By definition in the Merriam Webster dictionary,
An influencer is a person that “inspires or guides the action of others.”
With a span of about 2 billion followers it’s pretty accurate to put him in that category.
So the story goes that the Sanhedrin (the religious elders of the Jews) never really liked Jesus.
He contradicted their beliefs on the faith and they wanted him dead.
But they actually couldn’t kill him because they were under law.
The Roman law.
See in their eyes, Jesus was a blasphemer.
I’ll use some passage for those who might not be familiar with the Bible.
Bear with me.
(This isn’t a sermon… so let’s look at this from a historical perspective).
Mark 14: 61–63
61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I am.[i] And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand[j] and coming on the clouds of heaven.[k]”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
61 But Jesus was silent and made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus said, “I am.[i] And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand[j] and coming on the clouds of heaven.[k]”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?”
“Guilty!” they all cried. “He deserves to die!”
After which the Sanhedrin then took Jesus to Pilate and
Mark 15: 2-4 ; 9-14
Very early in the morning the leading priests, the elders, and the teachers of religious law—the entire high council[a]—met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus replied, “You have said it.”
3 Then the leading priests kept accusing him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer them? What about all these charges they are bringing against you?”
*********
9 “Would you like me to release to you this ‘King of the Jews’?” Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with this man you call the king of the Jews?”
13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!”
14 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?”
But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.
What to look out for in most cancel culture cases.
So from the text we can establish that Jesus’ “Messaiah” statement didn’t sit exactly well with the High Priest
In fact it offended him so much he tore his clothes in pain. (Mk 14:63)
But they couldn’t have him killed legally so they twisted the narrative to suit their agenda.
(The Messaiah is a spiritual term whereas “King of the Jews” is a political term).
The Sanhedrin/Pharisees stirred up a violent mob to oppose Jesus’ release.
Pilate gave power to the court of public opinion (which is not always right)
Now fill in the blanks.
Hear ye… hear ye board flipper
As much as this all happened in the past
History will forever judge them.
As it will you.
So think twice before hitting that send button.
Just pause to think that there’s a person at the other end.
With their own struggles,
Their own narrative.
Do you see your online adversary as someone that can learn from you? (or vice versa)
Or are they just an obstruction to the one sided view of the world you’re comfortable with?
Let’s not let our prejudice ruin the art of debate
Change is hard.
Whether it’s in beliefs or ways of life.
But if you aren’t changing at all,
Are you really living or just breathing?
And finally,
Let the law do its work.
Let it hold people accountable for their actions.
And if the law can’t do that for any given reason.
Then are you not to blame for focusing your energy on the wrong cause?
They law should be by the people for the people,
Right?
Right?
I thought so…
👏👏👏👏