There’s truth in the notion history repeats itself. I’ll take a step further by saying it’s guaranteed when left unchecked. It’s in the cyclical patterns of nature. It’s evidenced in universal laws. It’s ingrained in our behavior as a living species. Because we humans are conscious, self-aware entities, when we engage in repeating history in non-biological ways, it can be outright scary.
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Take censorship. The concept that certain ideas, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes & practices should not be allowed –usually exercised on the belief it’s negatively influential on the masses –has been at the core of human interaction since we first organized into groups all those centuries ago. & who makes the call? A select group of gatekeepers. A non-partisan voting system open to a given community to ensure all voices are “equally” heard. An appointed deity or monarch. But the reality is, you just can’t please everyone. & that’s my point. Someone, some group or faction, is always, always, going to be unhappy with the decisions.
For me, the recent saga of Shane Gillis & Saturday Night Live is the most recent rendition of the debate about censorship. Now before going further, I have to stay I strongly believe it’s important to be considerate of marginalized individuals & groups in a society meant to be inclusive to all. I especially feel there is no room for racial epithets in that structure. That said, it’s always a slippery slope when things conflict with the idea of free speech.
The job of a comic is to express perspectives on things, not based in fact necessarily, as expected from the media, but from their point of view. That can at times be perceived as skewed. But these creatives are given a platform to present how they see the world & no one is forced to listen to those opinions. It’s not as simple as saying “if you don’t like it, don’t come”, but really that’s kinda how it is.
As a whole, the social fishbowl we live in today has become overly-sensitized to the importance of consideration for everyone’s feelings in the broadest ways possible. Now, statements & narratives designed to bend opinions or inflame prejudices is just wrong. That’s manipulation. In Mr. Gillis’ case (like many of his contemporaries presently & preceding), it’s wasn’t even funny or, in my opinion, even real “material”. It was just crude, ignorant banter.
This new, I-must-be-heard world we inhabit has businesses & high-profile individuals alike running scared because the cost of being affiliated with or accused of being such an ‘outspoken, offensive’ individual like Mr. Gillis does not mean just a loss of social support, it can be financially devastating also. There rests the real issue: The cost of doing business. For to align with anyone found to have engaged in such transgressions is just not worth the possible losses it may create. & the ramifications can be equally destructive for the offender. Ask Kolin Kapernick, Mel Gibson or Isaiah Washington to name a few.
But this is just an echo. We’ve been here before. In the past hundred years alone there’s been Nazi Germany, Stalin’s USSR, China & for a while, in America, there was Senator Joseph McCarthy.
What McCarthy accomplished in four short years –the way he incited fear & suspicion for a whole nation during the “Red Scare” was astonishing. A testament to what the right incendiary approach at the right time can do to the masses. Even a democratic, freedom-supporting nation like the US.
I believe what’s happening in our society now is meant as a shift for the better. Consider though, Mr. McCarthy probably thought he was making things better too. It’s a razor’s edge that can slice in either direction at any time. With the fear of loss of freedom & wealth behind it, it’s no wonder so many are now looking over their shoulder to see what slights from their pasts may return to haunt them tomorrow. For Shane Gillis, it’s an opportunity lost. Rightfully so, I say (as I struggle for traction on this slope).
We’re on dangerous ground here. But it’s not uncharted terrain. Hopefully, as we travel through this together, we’ll find the needed balance to keep free speech free without offending everyone.
Lord knows we’ve all crossed the line at some point whether we knew it or not.