Can we cancel "cancel-culture"?

During Black History Month, Esquire released a controversial article titled “The Life of an American Boy at 17”. A photo of the subject of the piece appears on the magazine’s cover along with the words, “An American Boy: What it’s like to grow up white, middle class, and male in the era of social media, school shootings, toxic masculinity, #MeToo, and a divided country.”

Who is the subject of this piece? The article opens with “Ryan Morgan is a high school senior from West Bend, Wisconsin. Like all seventeen-year-olds, he thinks a lot about what he wants to do with his life, because everyone keeps telling him he’s supposed to have it figured out. He’d rather just talk about his girlfriend or cool sneakers or the Packers. But life is never that simple.”

The reactions to this article online is overwhelmingly negative. Some responses on Twitter include:

“Because you know what we don’t discuss nearly enough? The white male privilege”.

“Esquire dropping this ode to white male privilege that no one asked for... during Black History month is just... ugh.”

“Imagine this same ‘American Boy’ headline with someone who looked like Trayvon talking about what it’s like to have your mother sit you down to tell you how to stay alive in your own city during Black History Month. Just imagine. Shame on you, @esquire.”

Is this backlash deserved? In my opinion, the reactions to this article prove the article’s entire point--which was to give voice to those who may be ignored because of their viewpoints or who they are as an individual. In no way am I saying that white men of the middle class struggle more than women, people of color, lower-class individuals, etc. What I am saying is that these responses prove our society’s issue with “cancel culture”-- the rejection and distancing of someone from what they find offensive or morally wrong.

In some cases it may be deserved. When a negative light is cast on sexual predators, child predators and racists, few members of the public complain about their treatments. In fact, negative attention will appear just. But not everyone is a threat to society. There are those who simply have a different opinion which does not harm others. With that being said, are we too quick to demand the deletion of television shows? Of the rejection of actors or musicians? Before saying that we “will boycott (insert person/company here)”, do we really think about it?

These are questions that come to mind following the publication of “An American Boy”. I totally agree with it being wrong of Esquire to release this during Black History Month. Black History Month should focus on exactly that--black history. Releasing it at this time makes it look as if the magazine wants to distract from the attention black history deserves.

But when it comes to the question, “Is it okay to get a white boy’s perspective on today’s issues?” I have to admit that I disagree with the protests against Esquire. Like I previously stated, white men have historically had it better. But I believe that every human is entitled to an opinion and under the First Amendment, should be able to express it. To “censor” the views of white men is to agree with the idea that the censorship of others is okay.

I suspect that those who are upset about this article haven’t actually read it. Perhaps there could have been a better title. Perhaps the message should have been more clear. But once you look at the article you don’t find anything calling for the oppression of minority groups. There is not an ounce of promotion for white supremacy. Those of you wondering how “radical” this article is have nothing to worry about.

The article is mostly about the daily life of a teenager. There are instances where Ryan, the subject, explains how today’s political climate have impacted him personally. He recounts a story where he was attacked by a girl in a classroom, leaving him with cuts on his face, and how the school administration dismissed his story. He was dubbed “a woman beater” by his peers because he pushed the girl off of him when she tried to hurt him.

Ryan also recounts exchanges he has had on social media.

“One time, on a post he describes as “a feminist thing that said something about what men do,” he commented, “It’s not true, and that’s really stupid to say that.” The woman who’d posted it responded with something like, “What do you have to say? You’re a white man.” Ryan is still confused by her response. “Doesn’t she promote equal rights?” he says. He pauses. “I guess they think since I’m not a girl, I don’t have an opinion.”

Ryan does not appear to be a person who is narrow-minded. In fact, towards the end of the article is a part about how Ryan is currently navigating the political world as he nears adulthood.

“And more to the point, he decided it is better to engage with other perspectives than to drop out of the conversation. He now watches both Fox News and CNN. He says he’s inched toward the center politically, and so have his friends.”

The article was not what people have made it seem. I expected an article where a boy is against the support of minority groups and whines about how hard his life is. But what I got was an article without any degrading or whining. He recounts his story in a matter-of-fact tone, simply stating what happened. By the way he describes his stories, it sounds like he has come to terms with how things turned out.

Being open to the opinions of those who you may not agree with shows incredible maturity. Just by seeing Esquire’s cover, many may be quick to judge and complain. But once you attempt to understand what it is you are complaining about, you may find that it is wrong to simply have it “cancelled”.