Uncanceled.

August 26 2020 {This post has since been edited}

 I was initially going to make this entire blog post about my local creatives. It is one of my goals with this blog to write about the incredible people I’ve met in the past few years; some I’ve only come acquainted with a few weeks ago, some I’ve been a fan of for a long time. 

But first, I felt compelled to point out one thing: All these people are different. 

I was introduced to Dan McClean through a co-worker of mine at Amazon. She sent me her Instagram page (@danmcclean) and I was blown away by the level of craftsmanship and creativity. Being a fashion girl at heart, I’ve always loved a great luxury label, and more recently have built a great passion for upcycling and sustainable fashion. These two had created a perfect combination of just that: sustainable luxury. 

I met Sam almost 5 years ago (@samamtha_ann_art ) at a photoshoot for an up and coming apparel line, through the photographer (and her boyfriend) Josh (@jjdemir). Soft-spoken, silly, genuine, and open-hearted is exactly how I’d describe her. Come to find out, Sam and I shared a similar background in being self-taught artists, and I’ve watched her take her passion for lines and structure to the next level. Her work is the ideal mixture of modernism and remaining down to earth in solid colors, and purposefully moving lines.

Gregory and I only met a few weeks ago when his stylist had reached out asking me to model for the brand. I clicked on the username ( @mannishboyco) and was immediately drawn to the collage of black and white photographs, pinpoints in history, testimonies, and a sweatshirt that said in bold white letters, “Mixed Race Kids”. 

And in my own head I said, “Hey, that's me!”. 

The brand is sharp, clean, and loud, serving as a voice for those of us that felt like we never had one.

I will write more about these people, and the many others I have encountered, but the point is, each of these creators are coming from completely different backgrounds. Various cities, states, and counties. They use distinct mediums to create, in completely opposite methods, and they all have a different story behind who they are and why they do what they do. 

It’s an unspoken rule in the creative community that we always show respect towards one another’s - regardless if we understand the process, the physical piece, know the artist themselves, or not at all - respect is a given. The reason for this is that we know from our own artistic experiences, that there is an overwhelming out-pour of personal expression within each piece. There is always a reason behind the rhyme and rhythm. 

Whether or not  we ‘get it’, we understand that ‘it’ is a story, a portion of someone else's life - one that we have not lived, and therefore, we would not know or understand completely, even if we tried. We do not always engage with each other directly, or even show immense support, but there is always a certain level of respect that is exchanged no matter what. 

Prior to writing this post, a couple of things came to mind, popped up on my feed, and inspired me this week that seemed to effortlessly roll into one another. 

“We are living in a ‘cancel culture’... a culture where if you do something wrong, or others don’t agree with, you get canceled.” - (No More Chances via  @churchome) 

“I do get this sense sometimes from young people  that the way of me making change is to be judgmental as possible about other people. And that's enough. If all you’re going to do is cast stones, you’re probably not going to get very far.” - (Former President Obama, speaking at the Obama Foundation 2019)

“Do things for people. Not because of who they are, or what they do in return, but because of you who are.” (@_geneieve)

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22)

This isn’t a Jesus post, but I found that each of these quotes contributed to the pattern in which I wanted to bring to light, and that pattern being that many of us have canceled on each other in one way or another. Maybe you’ve asked others to unfollow you that disagree with your political views. Maybe you’ve unfriended someone you used to be close with due to a mistake that they made, or a decision they decided upon that went against what you may have believed. Maybe you won't return someone’s calls, or they haven’t returned yours, due to a conversation that showed you didn't see eye to eye on something. Or maybe you did have the same views, but you just didn’t quite understand why that person was so quiet about their beliefs, or the opposite, so loud. 

I’m sure many of you reading this are somewhat familiar with this ‘Cancel Culture’. With Election Season upon us, and fights for change across our world, the term has popped up more and more within the media, online, social media, and just common conversation. 

“If you ____________, then you’re canceled.” 

Whether the fight is for basic human rights, equal pay, a right to choose, a right to breathe, or even just baseline respect - the demand has never been so great for things that some of us take for granted, and things that some of us have yet to know and experience. 

This leads into my first point (and maybe my only point) that we need to remember where we come from, and I don't necessarily mean that literally. 

Because while you may have grown up in the same country, same city, or even maybe in the same house, the way in which you have grown up and experienced life is completely different from someone else's. Your views and opinions are bound to be different on some level because of how you were taught, how you were treated, where you got your education from, or what your profession may be. 

I used to babysit a pair of twins when I was growing up. They are mirror twins meaning they look practically identical, as their appearances literally mirror the other,  but personalities wise, these girls were more opposite than you could ever imagine. They lived in the same house, raised by the same parents, went to the same school, and couldn’t have been more different in terms of likes, dislikes, preferences or opinions. 

The flaw within Cancel Culture is that even if we were able to cancel out anybody who did not share our same opinions, views, decisions, we would then have no baseline to build our own opinions on. We’d all think the exact same. There would be no one to challenge your thought process, or to open you up to a new experience or idea.

Cancel Culture asks us to open up the door to everyone, but at the same time, close it and lock it shut on anybody who may not want to come in right away. We contradict ourselves and our own beliefs in claiming to respect everyone - except for those who disagree. 

And coming from a generation where we are fighting for equality and respect amongst our races, our sexual preferences, our religious beliefs, our genders, the least we could do is be just that, hold the door open a little longer and remain respectful.  

Each of us have a completely different story that paints the picture of who we are, and why we think the way we think, and why we do what we do. Only you know your whole story of your upward battles, and your mountaintop wins, and therefore, you are the only person who will think, move, and act exactly as you do. 

So… 

In the fight for acceptance, we can be more accepting.

In the fight for equality, we can recognize we are all different, but hold all the same value. 

In the fight for love, we could be more loving - especially towards those who may not know how deep love really is. 

Consider ‘cancel culture’ canceled.

*I want to note that I am not suggesting you rekindle toxic relationships/friendships/or associations, especially if they put you at risk of being harmed, or harming others in any physical, emotional, or mental way. 

** Additional sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/opinion/cancel-culture-.html