Is It Cancel Culture or Consequences?
Country’s music reckoning with Morgan Wellen
Once again, this question is asked as Morgan Wallen watches his career dissolve into a steaming and quivering mess. He was observed on camera using the N-word as he returned home from a rowdy night of partying and drinking. TMZ broke the entire story; if you haven’t watched the video, you can find it here.
The N-word is a racial epithet that has years of ugly history tied to it. When it falls from a person's lips, it touches upon slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and the terrorizing of blacks across this nation. There is no room for it in the human language, but unfortunately, it’s there and cuts to humanity's soul.
As of right now, he has lost his career and is a pariah in the music business. Does he deserve to be cancelled? That I don’t know. However, I believe in consequences, and he deserves to be reckoned with. Wallen’s needs to learn from this and pick up a few books about the effects of racism on this nation. If he can come out a better human, then not only does he win, but so does country music and the entertainment business as a whole. If he truly wants to change, he can become a spokesperson against the racism that's a part of the country music base.
Lastly, I do believe in forgiveness, and he does deserve the opportunity to repent. However, I would be remiss if I don’t mention that we, as African Americans, are rarely offered a second chance or the opportunity to redeem ourselves. Our lives matter, and we are often cancelled by the police, society, white supremacy, and systemic racism.
I sincerely hope this sends a message to other artists this won’t be tolerated; however, I am certain it will happen again. Why? because America seems never to learn.
