Cancel-Culture Unsure What to do With a Cherished Celebrity.

First, they came for "COPS" and then they came for "Live P.D." These decisions were fairly easy, as it became clear that cultural winds were changing. "Trying to sell police officers as the 'good guys' wasn't going to work anymore with the shifting sands of culture, " said one Network executive we spoke to.

Based on virtue signaling taking place on various social-media platforms, media companies began to sense they would be losing advertising and marketing revenue unless they made changes quickly. However, things got less clear as the long-running children's program, "Paw Patrol" made efforts to signal their own virtue on their official Twitter account. Responses quickly poured in, demanding one of the shows main characters pay the ultimate price for his egregious sin of being a police dog.  
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Though this backlash didn't last long, what it did do is shed light on a very real dilemma: how should cancel-culture proceed in their their mission to defund and de-platform the police, when doing so would cancel someone in a protected class they are seeking to redeem?

"We've been calling out white culture for decades, for their hypocrisy and pretentiousness. How can we get away with similar antics, by allowing a police officer to remain on television as a positive role-model and mentor, simply because he is a black man", said Vanessa Graves, a representative for Black Lives Matter, in Chicago (BLMChi).  

The character in question is Carl Winslow, from the hit sitcom "Family Matters", which ran from 1989-1998. Carl, who is played by Reginald VelJohnson, is one of many public servants that VelJohnson played as he cut out a niche for himself in Hollywood. VelJohnson, himself, is a beloved man who is respected by everyone who has ever had the privilege of meeting him. "The question was never about his character, but rather the characters he routinely played on TV and in the movies," said Graves. "But at the same time, how can we cancel Carl Winslow? He's done absolutely nothing wrong!"

Therein lies the problem. What is a movement supposed to do when their demand for justice collides with their demand for equality? Do they overlook the one in favor of the other? What will this choice do to their overall mission and goals? Will people still take them seriously if their insistence and efforts on ridding America's corrupt police of systemic racism and prejudice actually turn out to be raciest and prejudiced?

These are the questions that are left without answers as the cancel-culture mob continues its efforts to root out the remaining remnants police that are depicted in a positive light.  

"We will not rest until the entire racist system is burned down. Sadly, if we lose a few of our own heroes in the fight, that's simply the cost of war," said Graves.

Angie Cramer

Hollywood & Culture