12/05/2022
Journalist Owens debuts with an incisive defense of cancel culture. Defining cancel culture as the effort to collectively recognize and eradicate problematic behavior, he traces its links to radical protest and boycott movements of the past, including the American Revolution and the civil rights movement. He also analyzes the differences between how progressives and conservatives employ cancel culture (among others, progressives are much more likely to call out their own) and delves into individual cases, including the cancellations of R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, and other sexual abusers by the #MeToo movement, and the conservative backlash against the Dixie Chicks for opposing the war in Iraq in 2003. Owens also claims that “glaring double standards” exist in conservative as well as progressive circles, noting that R&B singer Chrisette Michelle “got canceled for performing at one of Trump’s inaugural balls, while Kanye West, who had more nefarious ties to Trump, was treated with more nuance, grace, and empathy.” Some readers may quibble at Owens’s conflation of modern-day cancel culture and historical protest movements such as Gandhi’s campaign against the British salt tax in India, but his arguments are thought-provoking and well supported. The result is an invigorating survey of a hot-button political issue. (Feb.)
"Journalist Owens debuts with an incisive defense of cancel culture... his arguments are thought-provoking and well supported. The result is an invigorating survey of a hot-button political issue." —Publishers Weekly
"A...relevant reminder of the possibilities of cancel culture and how it can make the powerful accountable." —Kirkus
"Owens offers a fresh take on cancel culture as a powerful instrument for change." —Refinery 29
"Ernest Owens takes a pointed but measured approach, tracing [cancel culture's] path from Black Twitter to the larger consciousness, and laying out its intersections with race, gender, politics and pop culture. Owens is especially effective when recounting his personal adventures in the cancel culture realm, from criticizing the Mummers to sparking a national conversation about cultural appropriation with a single tweet to Justin Timberlake." —Philadelphia Inquirer, Best New Books for February
“So much of the political landscape within the United States is steeped in false equivalences. The term “Cancel Culture” gets thrown around as a Boogey Man to strike fear into the hearts of many, without any analysis of what is actually being named. The Case for Cancel Culture is clear and honest about what Cancel Culture is (and isn’t) and is necessary in the fight for critical thought.” —J Mase III, author of The Black Trans Prayer Book
“The Case for Cancel Culture is not just essential at this juncture in time, it's an important tool for all times, and for anyone looking to learn how to have the difficult but necessary conversations about race, injustice, inequality and oppression. What Ernest Owens does in his book is what he's been doing for all the years he's been writing: He gives voice to the voiceless and amplifies the message of the marginalized. The powers that be fear two things: Getting knocked from their perch, and Owens, who shows us the way.” —Dawn Ennis, award-winning journalist, advocate and university professor
“Provocative, thought-provoking commentary and coverage, that's what journalist and writer Ernest Owens' gift is . He often goes where many don't. And while you may not always agree with him, you will leave his written work armed with information necessary for hard, open conversations. I could think of no other person more poised to tackle this issue of Cancel Culture, what it means and its impact today.” —Desiree Peterkin-Bell, national political strategist and CEO of DPBell & Associates
“Since the meteoric rise of social media, marginalized voices have taken advantage of their newfound online platforms to amplify causes, influence public opinion and shape our culture. These same voices have held corporations accountable, highlighted social injustices, and fueled grassroots political movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo. While these hashtags were incredibly effective in shifting conversation, this novel form of accountability swiftly gave rise to pejorative labels like cancel culture. Now that opposing forces and abusive powers are attempting to swing the pendulum of consequence backward, it is more important than ever to have a book like The Case for Cancel Culture. A blind backlash that ignores historical context threatens to dilute nuanced conversation and villainize the victims whose fortitude gave us both Civil Rights and Women's Suffrage. To me, making a case for cancel culture is making an argument for accountability over acquiescence.” —Jon Pierre, host of "The Popular Opinion!"
“Ernest Owens has become an invaluable voice in the media calling attention to both the news of the day and the nuance behind those stories. His ability to see through the opaque systems of the world make him the perfect voice to tackle the concept of cancel culture and the varied, tangled ways that phrase has been deployed, misused and maligned.” —Leslie Mac, founder of the Ferguson Response Network and Digital Strategist
“Ernest Owens is a loudmouthed troublemaking agitator. And that’s the greatest compliment I can bestow upon a genuine revolutionary. He’s loud because his truth must be heard. He makes the kind of (good) trouble Congressman John Lewis encouraged. And he’s like the agitator in a washing machine that exposes dirt in order to wash it away. Read his loudmouthed troublemaking agitating book. Read it now.” —Michael Coard, Esq, Civil Rights Attorney
“The Case for Cancel Culture explores the ways we attempt to manipulate marginalized communities into silence from holding those with power accountable. Owens’ work is a necessary discourse about power and control, and who ultimately has a voice versus whose is often stifled." —Preston D. Mitchum, attorney, advocate, activist, and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University
“Whether with thorough, bulletproof reporting or incisive, thoughtful op-eds, Ernest Owens has always been a journalist whose work demands accountability. He has always had moral clarity, nuanced perspective, and the facts to back them up. It’s only fitting that he would write one of the definitive works on cancel culture.” —William E. Ketchum III, Senior Culture Editor, Mic
01/01/2023
Owens, a journalist, media CEO, and podcaster, explains what "cancel culture" really means and how the left and the right use it differently. The left, Owens says, uses it to expand people's rights and freedoms, whereas the right applies it to retain power and to keep others from acquiring it. This argument is illuminated with examples, such as the 2018 March for Our Lives movement to cancel the pervasive gun culture in the United States, efforts to call out sexual predators in the public eye, and attempts to cancel voting and abortion rights and the separation of church and state. Above all, the book indicates that cancel culture is a tactic to level playing fields and to call for change, and cancellations depend on gender, race, and status. Owens argues that cancellation is not a new phenomenon and cites examples from ancient Rome, early Christianity, the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, India's fight for independence, McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, and the counterculture movement. Distinctions between cancel culture, bullying, shaming, and social media's impact are also discussed. VERDICT This is a provocative and important book that enables readers to gain a deep appreciation for the nuanced meaning of cancel culture.—Thomas Karel
2022-11-08
A cultural commentator advocates for cancel culture as a social movement that mobilizes the weak to “speak truth to power.”
With the rise of social media, the ability of individuals to comment publicly on the behavior of others has increased exponentially. According to Owens, calling out people and corporations for their racism, sexism, greed, and general insensitivity toward others and pressuring them to be accountable is the essence of cancel culture, and he argues that cancel culture is a force of progressive social change for the greater good. Political to its core, cancel culture comes in two styles: conservative and progressive. Conservatives are eager to cancel critical race theory and such groups as Black Lives Matter, yet they hypocritically condemn cancel culture for stifling free speech. Progressives use it to protect the vulnerable from being oppressed and exploited even as many on the left fret about its excesses. Overall, Owens views the negative reaction to cancel culture by the rich and powerful—particularly older, White, heterosexual, elite males regardless of political persuasion—as an attempt to preserve their privilege. Further, he wants us to recognize that cancel culture is not new. Along with the Boston Tea Party, his list of historical cancellations includes the Stonewall riots of 1969, the charging of Harvey Weinstein with sexual harassment in 2020, and Representative Liz Cheney’s recent ouster from Republican leadership in the House. “Once passive on Trump’s racist and incompetent leadership as someone who had previously voted for him,” writes the author, “Cheney was one of the few from the Right in Congress who voted to impeach the former president for wrongdoing in the January 6 insurrection.” By so extending his reach, however, Owens dilutes his argument. Distinctions matter, particularly when it comes to political action. Moreover, his belief that cancel culture can turn individual complaint into collective action needs much more thought.
An undercooked yet relevant reminder of the possibilities of cancel culture and how it can make the powerful accountable.