'Cancel culture' in Coal Country: Brothers on a mission to fight racism

[SummerMadness]

'Cancel culture' in Coal Country: Brothers on a mission to fight racism

Andrew Barrow sat down to dinner with his wife, his teenage daughter, and a gnawing question. What does it mean to be a ‘snowflake’?

Someone had dropped the word in a comment on his post on Nosey Neighbors of Schuylkill County, a hyper-active local Facebook group. Usually, it’s a snapshot of rural Pennsylvania life: burglaries, missing pets, fundraisers for sick neighbors, and fires. Every few days, it seemed, another fire.

But, lately, things had gotten personal.

“Well dad, usually old people say that if you’re being soft about something,” his daughter translated.

That struck a nerve. No one had ever called Andy Barrow, 52 — a former police officer, a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan — soft before.

It almost defied belief. After all he’d done to try and shine a light on a problem in the community, Andy and his brother were being painted as weak — as if somehow they were the bad guys.

But Andy had no intention of backing down. He couldn’t let Schuylkill County off the hook that easily.

 

[Ironhold]

From the piece:

What really rubbed Yeich the wrong way was the tone of the letter. It implied that if donors kept giving to Port Clinton, that would mean they condoned the bartender’s behavior, and leadership’s decision not to fire him.

“To me it just sounded like they were trying to turn everyone against the fire company for whatever happened,” said Yeich.

Steve Schaeffer, Landingville’s bar steward, jumped in. “And it almost included us even though we had nothing to do with it. That’s what got me. It’s like they were saying we were supporting their decision when most of the places they sent it to probably didn’t know anything about it.”

This is how "cancel culture" actually works.

If someone does something wrong, then not only are they deemed to be irreparably toxic, but so is anyone associated with them; their associates must immediately denounce them or find themselves labeled as well.

Once a person is so labelled, the label is permanent, with no chance for the person to ever make amends; they're to be shunned and humiliated until they die, and their memory will forever be comprised of people reminiscing about whatever got them "cancelled".

If it sounds like how things are done in Communist countries, well... three guesses what political system tends to be supported by the kinds of people who support "cancel culture".

For every person who has legitimately done wrong, you can find dozens of people "cancelled" for supporting an unpopular candidate, making a juvenile joke, or other matters that once upon a time would have been settled with a frank discussion in private. In extreme instances, devotees will mine years of social media postings just to find one thing so that they can justify cancelling someone.

The kid whose sign asking for beer money led to him raising all sorts of money for charity? Someone found a lone social media post he made from something like eight years prior and used it to set off on a crusade to have him "cancelled". No matter how he apologized, the "woke" crowd refused to forgive him or accept that he could have changed in that time. There went the corporate sponsorship for his charitable efforts.

In this instance, yes, the bartender could use a stern lecture and a good come-to-Jesus moment. I have no problems with saying that. But on the whole, I've seen too many people have their lives destroyed by a "judge first, don't bother asking questions ever" mentality.

 

[SummerMadness]

In this instance, yes, the bartender could use a stern lecture and a good come-to-Jesus moment. I have no problems with saying that. But on the whole, I've seen too many people have their lives destroyed by a "judge first, don't bother asking questions ever" mentality.

A bartender that constantly makes racial slurs directed at African Americans should not be employed by this bar. Their, "Well, this is just how it is, ho-hum," reply is not helpful either. That's how racism continues to be a problem. Canceling this bartender (i.e., firing him) is the right thing to do.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Canceling this bartender (i.e., firing him) is the right thing to do.

Why? He still exists...he still has a life and he still has a vote. He's still likely to be racist too.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Why? He still exists...he still has a life and he still has a vote. He's still likely to be racist too.

I'm getting dizzy trying to reconcile this with your position in this thread.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I'm getting dizzy trying to reconcile this with your position in this thread.

Oh well...allow me to explain....

Some jobs necessitate a non-racist attitude to do correctly. Being a police officer is definitely one of those.

Being a bartender, arguably, isn't.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I'm getting dizzy trying to reconcile this with your position in this thread.

For example, take a look at my statements here...

Bernie campaign responds to Project Veritas reporter by police officer

I expressed surprise that they weren't fired...but never actually said they need to be fired. Does being a pro-Stalinist gulag-loving far left communist impede one's ability to staff for Bernie? Maybe....maybe not. I can't really say. Perhaps the far left is what Sanders considers his base.

I just know it's hard to claim to be against nazis while fetishizing the tactics of tyrannical dictators.