Confederate killer tries to cancel himself

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A few notes:

I highly doubt he started displaying the flag in protest of the left's desire to remove it. It's been a large part of southern culture for my entire life. He strikes me as exactly the type who would have proudly been flying it for his entire life. Will he have gotten more stubborn about it knowing how liberals hate it? Certainly. Sticking a giant finger in the eye of all things liberal is also a big part the cultural group he most likely belongs to.

Why remove it now? I don't think you need to think creatively to answer that. You just need to know a little bit about American law and lawyers. So easy answer: his lawyers told him to. The name of the game will be to sanitize his image as much as possible for the courtroom.

Side note:

While the term "cancel culture" in new, the concept is not. Humans have been shunning and chastising those who don't follow societal norms for as long as humans have tried to live together. I've never liked it.

A person has a right to protect his/her property.

But the person has no right to kill a person, unless he/she was placed in imminent danger of being killed (by the trespasser/burglar).

As far as the Confederate flag: He made his bed. He has to lie in it.

Non-relevant evidence is suppressed because it can bias a jury.

1. Arbery's criminal history was suppressed (cancelled).

Ahmaud Arbery's Criminal Record Cannot Be Used By Defense in Murder Trial, Judge Rules
https://www.newsweek.com/ahmaud-arberys ... es-1625050

2. Arbery's mental diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder was suppressed (cancelled).

Ahmaud Arbery’s mental health records can’t be used at trial, judge rule
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ah ... s-rcna2517

Like I said, I see the irony and hypocrisy you were getting at with his attempt to remove the Confederate flag he prior-to ardently supported. However, you're still misusing the term "cancel" in this context. He's not "cancelling himself."

When a television show is cancelled, it "goes away." As in, it's no longer funded and produced and no longer able to generate new content. When a person is "cancelled," it means the court of public opinion (i.e. the masses) has deemed his beliefs or actions unacceptable, effectively ending his career or credibility or relevancy. Like the TV show, the person will no longer be "viewed" by the masses. A person is cancelled by others.

In order for a person to "cancel themselves," or, more correctly, "get themselves cancelled," they'd have to deliberately engage in outlandish behavior for the sake of destroying their credibility and reputation. Don't know why anyone would purposely want to do that, but cancellation is done by the collective, not by the individual. Being cancelled is having the public turn against the individual.

Cancel culture is the belief by some that the masses are too sensitive to a difference of opinion and too quick to judge an individual and are willing destroy his reputation on a whim. The counter argument is that some of those people crying "victim of cancel culture" actually deserve to be "cancelled" because their behaviors really are unacceptable. Regardless, this doesn't actually apply in this case.

Rather, what we're seeing is damage control. He's not "cancelling himself," rather, he's trying to minimize his "cancellation," both in a court of law and in the court of public opinion. If he wanted to cancel himself, and have the public turn against him, he'd do the exact opposite. He'd REALLY go over-the-top and wear KKK robes to court. That would most certainly work to his detriment.

So, yes, he's a hypocrite, quickly trying to minimize his unpopular opinion. But he's doing so to minimize how he's perceived and, hence, treated by those who will judge him. The exact opposite of cancellation as it's used in regards to people.


Actually, his analogy was a little bit different. Travis McMichael was most likely indulging in his racist beliefs when he deliberately targeted and murdered a man for being black. In naturalplastic's analogy, the PETA member didn't deliberately kill his neighbor for having the opposite philosophy. It was accidental, but preventable manslaughter. But he realized the masses would never buy it; it would be presumed his killing of the neighbor was intentional.

However, the aftermath in trying to minimize negative perceptions from the public by downplaying is the same in both scenarios.

The point you made (highlighted) is what I was alluding to. It's southern pride which was once so widespread in the south that it was the most iconic cultural symbol of the south. Nothing else screams white antebellum southern culture more than the confederate flag.

In some ways I am posing the question whether Mr McMichael is(for the purpose of his legal proceedings) trying to erase his cultural roots.

I would suggest, again, that "he" isn't doing anything; it would be his lawyers insisting on making his image more generic. It's protocol for a trial. Make the defendant as plain vanilla as possible to keep personality differences from triggering potential juror biases.

While the confederate is doing damage control is possible to cancel oneself
Hypothetical situations:

During a high school debate in 1973 John Doe used a bunch of racist tropes and used the n-word and r-word a bunch. As Doe experienced the world he became a nonracist until 2020 when in reaction to seeing the George Floyd murder became "woke", completely bought into critical race theory. Marched in protests, became a leader of a local group that lobbied for the removal of racist statues because he now feels "that is just the way it was" is an excuse to perpetuate racism. In 2021 while going through his old high diary he discovers that old notes and decides he is a not worthy racist who for the past year is using his white privilege to whitesplain. He quits his positions and all social media. That would be a person canceling themself.

Let's take a more likely situation John Doe figures that debate is going to come out someway, somehow, and does the quit before you are fired thing. I would say Doe canceled himself before they canceled him.

Yeah I know but its the symbolic gesture of his cancelling his "heritage" to save his skin.

Charlie Daniels explained the place of the flag in southern culture reasonably well back in 2015:

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/27/charlie-daniels-defends-confederate-flag-says-oppo/

I've seen similar responces from others from that region as well when discussing the subject.

As far as "Sticking a giant finger in the eye of all things liberal" - That would appear to be a continuation of his quote (substitute "liberals" for "Northerners")

It is having a group (liberals now, Northerns then) insist on punching down at them (with stereotypes such as "Rednecks"\MAGAs\etc.) which is what brings out this attitude, as it is the only "power" they have in the situation. Those who had been punching down then seem surprised by the responce and go looking for an "explanation" as to why people would unite around something to help restore their indiviual\group pride (in this case the confederate flag).

In looking for this "explanation", they ignore their own personal\group attitude\actions towards those people as a possible cause, and so assign the reason to another stereotype they hold about their target group, increasing the division\resentment from their victims - It's easier to assign false motives to their victims than it is to accept responsibility for their own attitudes\actions towards them.

Absent the pontificating, @brictoria, I think you provided an accurate summary.

I personally do not believe that most people who fly the confederate flag see it as racist, or see themselves as racist. It's about southern pride to them. The problem, however, is that the use of the flag to represent southern pride was birthed during a time period when the south was extremely racist, and that the symbol comes from a war that was racist. People of color have every right to take it personally and be hurt when they see it.

Two completely different views and emotions. One flag.

I agree with your analysis but I am trying to demonstrate hypocrisy in cognitive processing of a concept which I posit he likely sees himself a victim off. When faced with murder charges for racist intent or he has chosen to erase his loyalty to his "culture" so he can avoid jail. But the missing piece of the jigsaw here is that he is standard bearer for fighting so called cancel culture and the confederate flag is his birthright and his identity...but now when he has to account for his actions he doesn't want to be anywhere near this image he was so proud to parade around for everyone to see.

I'm the one saying he's cancelling his own culture.

You might have missed my post where I said the concept of cancel culture only exists in the minds of right wingers. Whether this confederate actually cancelled himself according to your rules is another matter that you can decide for yourself.

And that's precisely my point. So if this is the standard response from a southerner then why is McMichael so anxious to wipe his little dixie flag when he fronts court?? Isn't this an admission the flag "is racist" and "he knows it" which is why he's at great pains to have it not included at court?

ergo....cancel culture....

I think you read too much into it. He isn't eager to do anything except stay out of jail. In that regard, he will do what his lawyers tell him to, period. We have no idea what he knows or believes. The action only shows us what his lawyers believe.