March 11, 2021

"'Being "cancel-adjacent" is exhausting'.... It’s especially enervating, she said, when you’re adjacent to people being canceled..."

"... for their coverage of other people who have been canceled. 'There is a word for this, but I’m not sure what it is. "Irony" is insufficient. If we cancel everyone... who will be left?'"

I think that stands on its own ripped out of context. Good luck reading the complicated context (and that's assuming you can get into the NYT): "What Really Happened at ‘Reply All’?/A podcast was applauded for its reporting on embedded racism in the workplace. It didn’t make it to the third episode."

I couldn't untangle the story. I was almost interested enough, but ultimately the complexity outweighed the hope of enlightenment. Was that also the problem with the podcast? I don't know. Did the podcast about racism have a racism problem? 

You tell me. I'm just posting because I wanted to record the sentence, "Being 'cancel-adjacent' is exhausting." I think "cancel-adjacent" is a term worth remembering. And I've been fascinated lately by the tendency of younger people to use the word "exhausting" in their complaints. 

For example, here's a WaPo article from last June, "Black people are tired of trying to explain racism":

Perhaps I was trying to explain institutional racism, or racism and Western Civilization, or racism and literature.... I have no recollection of this conversation. It sounds like my younger self — the self not yet exhausted explaining racism to white people.... Explaining racism is exhausting. It’s exhausting to explain to people who don’t believe you, or who look at you with blank expressions. Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”... Racism is exhausting.

57 comments:

Mikey NTH said...

"Racism is exhausting."

It is also annoying, especially the constant insistence that no one else understands what it is, rather than a refusal to accept the speaker's premise that racism is the explanation for every bad thing ever.

Whiskeybum said...

Racism IS exhausting! You can tell by the exhausted look on the faces of people as the wokerati try to explain it to them, day, after day, after day... (as if this is the first time that they’ve ever considered the thought, or have even heard of it before).

Whiskeybum said...

“There is a word for this, but I’m not sure what it is”

Actually, there is a phrase for this:

Reign of Terror

Rob said...

When it comes to conversations and analyses about racism, the wisdom of “War Games” applies: The only way to win is not to play.

wendybar said...

Especially when you are a RACIST just for being born white.

Shouting Thomas said...

Anything short of kissing blacks’ asses, singing their praises and giving them what they want the moment they demand it is racism.

That’s what they were taught in school.

Same with gays.

stevew said...

Repeatedly failing to make a cogent and convincing argument IS exhausting.

"For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise."

- Saint Paul in his second letter to the Church at Corinth

BUMBLE BEE said...

Somehow the idea that success is easy took hold. Black veterans I've worked with knew it wasn't true. The street blacks' mantra was "close enough". It never was "close enough".

Kevin said...

Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”

Hello, Party of Science!

Darrell said...

Since everything is racism, perhaps nothing is.

Fernandinande said...

"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism"

They never explain anything since whining isn't explaining, but producing endless drivel about imaginary racism is definitely a very popular pastime in the Black Community with it's "shared history and culture".

For example, here is a list of the black black blackity black articles written by that same racist whiner, wherein history ended at least 60 years ago:

Renowned as a Black liberator, Harriet Tubman was also a brilliant spy

'Uncomfortable truth’: The new push for a slavery reparations commission in Congress

Emmett Till’s brutal murder changed America. Now his home is a historic landmark.

After MLK’s home was bombed, he refused to back down: ‘This movement will not stop’

The Black women who paved the way

Ebenezer Baptist: MLK’s church makes new history with Warnock victory

Was Queen Charlotte Black? Here’s what we know.

Scientists find a mass grave in Tulsa that might be from 1921 race massacre

Scientists find human remains that might be from Tulsa’s 1921 race massacre

Tulsa begins search for ‘Original 18’ Black people killed in 1921 race massacre

Krumhorn said...

That’s because those exhausted folks “have done the WORK”

- Krumhorn

tim maguire said...

If you're tired of explaining something, maybe your explanation sucks.

That's the problem (one of many, really) with woke--it puts the burden on everybody else to make the world as the woke person wants it. "It's not my job to help you follow my rules."

Tim said...

Bullshit. You know what is exhausting? Up at 6AM, work 7 to 10, attend class 11 to 3, Work 4 to 8. Home, spend an hour with your wife and daughters, study till 11. Repeat with slight variations 5 days, then work 7AM to 8PM on Saturday, and 10 AM to 7 PM on Sunday. Every other Sunday off, but you hate to take off because Sunday is time and a half. Repeat with slight variations until you get your degree. Try that for 3 years and then tell me about exhausting.

unknown said...

I’ve always thought seeing racism in everything must be exhausting. Terrifying too. And it induces anger. But at the end of the day you must get tired being on guard constantly.

Jamie said...

The other word that's gained hugely (maybe yugely) in popularity is "saddened." I'm not talking about Trump's usage of "sad" - that's been common for as long as I can remember. I'm talking about people's and organizations' saying they are "saddened" by things that we all know actually p*ss them off.

Between "exhausted" and "saddened," it seems everyone wants to sound like a harried mother, for some reason.

Original Mike said...

"Racism is exhausting."

The only winning move is not to play.

boatbuilder said...

As Bob Dylan said: “I used to care. But things have changed.”

The Crack Emcee said...

"If we cancel everyone... who will be left?'"

These people know nothing of French history.

The Crack Emcee said...

Original Mike said...
"Racism is exhausting."

The only winning move is not to play.

With THIS crowd? Impossible. Any black person who drops his guard with these asholes is asking for it.

The Crack Emcee said...

Like I said, you guys know just enough about decency to violate it.

zipity said...


"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism":

That's funny, because I'm sick of hearing about it.

At what point do African Americans take a look at their culture and notice that rap music, the disintegration of the Black family, the opiate of low expectations, is the root problem for Blacks.

And as for assigning collective guilt, racism, to anyone with white skin....well, I was under the impression collective guilt was a bad thing. Or are we now going blame all Muslims for Islamic terrorism?

Shouting Thomas said...

Crack, it’s not racism to decline to kiss your ass and buy your music.

You’re a very childish, abusive, psychologically fucked up soul.

oleh said...

I think the podcast Blocked and Reported did an entertaining job of explaining what happened on it's February 19 cast.

Gravel said...

Crack, you’re an idiot. I’m not going to tell you why - you need to do the work.

JAORE said...

It is especially exhausting explaining that I am the lost King of Belgium.

Can you believe these anti-Royals don't understand intuitively?

Cath said...

That word "exhausting" seems to be everywhere these days. Maybe you should have a tag for "things that are exhausting"

MayBee said...

Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”.

I suspect this is exhausting to answer because there isn't really an answer. You don't know, but you want it to be because of race.

I am white, but I have lived where white people are a minority. It amazes me when I think about how quickly a mind can settle on "he did this or said this because he's racist against me" when something goes wrong. It is such an easy, comforting answer.
But of course, that person could have done the thing they did for any number of reasons.
When I was first getting ready to move to Tokyo, I had a (male) friend tell me to get ready, that the Japanese are still very racist against white people. I didn't find that to be true at al. But the friend who told me that was a belligerent drunk, and had had altercations in the Tokyo bars. It was easier for him to think the people he was bumping up against were racist than to think he probably needed to drink less and go home more often.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Talking about racism is exhausting! Other than sex, is there another subject like “racism” that is talked about ten-thousand percent more than it is practiced? I think not.

MayBee said...

oleh said...
I think the podcast Blocked and Reported did an entertaining job of explaining what happened on it's February 19 cast.


Blocked and Reported is a great listen for issues like this.

Francisco D said...

"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism"

Maybe WaPo is implying that Black people are incapable of explaining racism.

If I have a concept that I am failing to explain to people, is that their fault or my inability to explain what may be a flawed concept?

wildswan said...

It just seemed to be Ambition v. Ambition sprawling in every direction and dimension like Bleak House, until everyone was used up in toxic, cancel-adjacent reckoning. A reckoning can be about money or justice - this was money-grubbing calling itself justice-seeking. I did not finish the article.

Howard said...

I'm really happy for you people because you believe that the abuses and wrongness of cancel culture erases and excuses your systematic systemic structural racist behaviors.

What you people are showing the world is how ignorant weak and guilty you are. Thank God Darwin is culling the herd.

The Crack Emcee said...

zipity said...

"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism":

"That's funny, because I'm sick of hearing about it."

Maybe stop perpetuating it and we'd stop.

"At what point do African Americans take a look at their culture and notice that rap music"

Yeah, and Heavy Metal leads to Devil Worship, right?

"the disintegration of the Black family"

Integration did that, Asshole - which you encouraged.

"the opiate of low expectations"

Thee's a church on every corner but you expect Einsteins?

"is the root problem for Blacks."

The root problem for black is bogus sociologists like you.

A"nd as for assigning collective guilt, racism, to anyone with white skin....well, I was under the impression collective guilt was a bad thing. Or are we now going blame all Muslims for Islamic terrorism?"

Just pay me and shut up.

wendybar said...

What you people are showing the world is how ignorant weak and guilty you are. Thank God Darwin is culling the herd.

EXACTLY what the globalists planned.....

The Crack Emcee said...

If you're a poor black guy, who's been canceled and destroyed (money gone, marriage, career over, etc.) for telling the truth, do you know what you get if you survive?

Liberal enemies and white conservatives, swearing to GOD there are no victims, so they can freely attack you - here and elsewhere - for suggesting anything was happening.

But, after it goes mainstream - if you're rich ass white Piers Morgan against blacks - Tucker Carlson thinks you're an inspiration to us all.

I can't make this up.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Except the one institution that truly appears designed to suppress black people, keep them ignorant and angry while pretending to care (free meals!) is K-12 “education” based on actual real-world results. Black students consistently lag peers in other ethnic groups and are “promoted” without being taught skills to progress to the next grade. That the victims of this crazy racist system have created a term for succeeding within this hell as “acting white” reveals how racist the teachers unions and administrators really are. Learning is nowhere in their list of goals for their classes.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Black parents should join together for a class action suit vs Big Education for ruining schools for black kids. Why are schools tied to zip codes. Tying bank loans or insurance quotes to a person by zip code is illegal but it is done to black students.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Yes, when people keep asking you for logical explanations and you only have "Because all the right people say so," it is exhausting. You have to come up to the possibility of actually thinking, which is daunting when you know you aren't up to it.

If they had an intellectual explanation, they would use it. They only have social explanations that you should "just know," and they don't know how to explain it any better than that.

Bruce Gee said...

Wildswan at 8:46 gets bonus points for referencing "Bleak House".

Sam L. said...

I trust NOTHING from the NYT and the WaPoo. They're in bed with the Dems.

Yancey Ward said...

I have also noted the rise of "exhausting". I prefer "tiresome"- it has the proper connotation to me.

Howard said...

Blogger wendybar said...

What you people are showing the world is how ignorant weak and guilty you are. Thank God Darwin is culling the herd.

EXACTLY what the globalists planned.....


EXACTLY what Q wants you to think. I thought you bootstrap people believed in your own personal agency. I suppose it is comforting to you to play the victim card from the bottom of the deck. Trump taught you well.

Real American said...

It’s exhausting to explain to people who don’t believe you, or who look at you with blank expressions. Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”... Racism is exhausting.

It's similarly exhausting to explain to people who don't believe you, or who look at you with blank expressions why something ISN'T racist. Not being obsessed with race is exhausting.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Exhausted have settled on the definition of racism being "everything." That way, no explanation is needed. Is it part of "everything"? Then it must be racist. So simple.

Of course, in reality, the exhaustion comes from having to explain why something that isn't racist is racist. The circular logic and make-it-up-as-you-go rationalizing is surely a difficult task. Perhaps if the Exhausted didn't start from the premise that only they get to define racism and that they could never actually be wrong or that people can't have good faith disagreement, then their lives may be a tad easier. Instead, they take the difficult road of having to explain why Dr. Seuss is basically a grand wizard in the KKK and the Cat in the Hat is no different than Mein Kampf.

narciso said...

Such tiring foolishness



https://youtu.be/Mb_wcNzt-6E

Skippy Tisdale said...

"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism":

Then shut the fuck up.

Thank you in advance of your efforts.

The Crack Emcee said...

Skippy Tisdale said...
"Black people are tired of trying to explain racism":

Then shut the fuck up.

Thank you in advance of your efforts.

You're just mad you got your ass kicked for being the kind of person we blame for it all.

n.n said...

Diversity dogma, not limited to racism, is a clear and progressive condition: one step forward, two steps backward.

Howard said...

Crack: maybe if you explain to your white Republican comrades how much money they could make off of the windfall from reparations they might be more supportive of it. it's not like all that money would be stuffed into someone's mattress it would be spent in the economy, would find its way into clever con man's hands etc.

Balfegor said...

Or, worse, who ask, “How do you know that happened because of race?”...

People ask that because a lot of the supposed micro and macro aggressions routinely attributed to "racism" sound pretty much exactly like crap they have to put up with too. To take one example, getting peoples' names confused happens to Whites, not just Asians. Asians raised to have a chip on their shoulder interpret it as racism because they've learned the "Asians all look alike" stereotype and interpret accordingly. Here's another: people asking you how to spell your name or mispronouncing your name may be irritating, but it's not racist. People with names like Maebh, Siobhan, Menzies, Featherstonehaugh, Cholmondeley, Urquhart, etc. get that too, and these are some of the Whitest names imaginable. It's mostly just whether they're familiar with the name in the first place. Yes, they're more likely to be unfamiliar if your name is Aisingioro, but that's because there aren't a lot of Aisingioros walking around in English speaking countries.

It's "worse," I suppose, because it threatens to undermine the racism-centric worldview some activists enjoy, but it's an important part of the conversation.

Joe Smith said...

"When I was first getting ready to move to Tokyo, I had a (male) friend tell me to get ready, that the Japanese are still very racist against white people. I didn't find that to be true at al."

We could compare notes...we lived in Tokyo for almost two years.

My wife was sent there to start her company's Asia presence.

It was very unusual for any woman (let alone a white woman) to be in that kind of position of power.

She was the only American or white person in the entire company of maybe 100 employees at the end (they were very successful).

But when I asked the Japanese why she was so readily accepted, they said it was because she 'came with credentials.' She was successful in America and they respected that.

As for white people in general, we had zero issues. The Japanese love American culture of all sorts.

Black Americans are treated great there. Crack will hate this part but I know this because one of the (now) great friends we made there is a black business executive who has lived in Japan for maybe ten years now.

African blacks are treated less great as they don't try to blend in and are tied to the criminal element (what there is).

The key is to not be an asshole. Respect their culture. Try to learn the language. Don't talk on your cell phone on the train when nobody else does.

It's not that difficult.

Josephbleau said...

“The key is to not be an asshole. Respect their culture. Try to learn the language. Don't talk on your cell phone on the train when nobody else does.”

I agree completely that the Japanese on the street are very nice and polite to foreigners. In a business context I saw some of the hard side. If you speak some Japanese you sometimes get the side comment “look, this monkey can talk!” Joke. I knew how to say that but assume they thought I didn’t. This was 20 years ago.

Joe Smith said...

"I agree completely that the Japanese on the street are very nice and polite to foreigners. In a business context I saw some of the hard side. If you speak some Japanese you sometimes get the side comment “look, this monkey can talk!” Joke. I knew how to say that but assume they thought I didn’t. This was 20 years ago."

Yes, I heard those stories from a Korean-American colleague maybe 30 years ago.

His job was to go to Japan and purchase hard drives, CDROM drives, etc.

My other co-worker in the marketing department was a young white woman who accompanied him as his 'secretary.'

She spoke fluent Japanese but never said a word while in meetings...she only took notes.

She not only heard the insults but the business strategy as well.

My wife speaks 20 words of Japanese, but was always in meetings with senior staff, all of whom were natives.

Balfegor said...

Re: Josephbleau:

If you speak some Japanese you sometimes get the side comment “look, this monkey can talk!” Joke. I knew how to say that but assume they thought I didn’t. This was 20 years ago.

I think there's still a little bit of that. But I think it depends on how fluent you are. I'm reasonably proficient, and use polite/humble grammar anytime I'm talking with clients, so to the extent it's remarked on at all, it's mostly questions like whether I'm half-Japanese, or perhaps were raised in Japan. It's probably just an easy conversational icebreaker for them, mixed with flattery.

Occasionally, outside of the business context, people express exaggerated shock when they see I'm a foreigner talking Japanese (cabbies, shopkeepers, passers-by who asked me for directions before seeing my face) -- you can probably imagine them doing that slightly theatrical "え!?ええ~??" -- but that's a little different from joking that these foreigners can talk human language.

Joe Smith said...

"Occasionally, outside of the business context, people express exaggerated shock when they see I'm a foreigner talking Japanese..."

Another friend we made there was an American who was born and raised in Tokyo.

Went to all Japanese schools including a prestigious Japanese university.

Of course, his Japanese was flawless, and because of his education, often times better than the native Japanese.

He was 6'2" with blond-ish hair and blue eyes. He looked like he stepped off the cover of a surfer magazine.

You should have seen the heads turn when he spoke : )

Unknown said...

Each generation has it's language, and it's causes. The older generation reluctantly recognizes that it is no longer their world, and the new generational thing makes no sense.

Ever think about the World War II generation...the Depression generation living through the long hair, flower child generation of the '60s.

Can you grok it?

Unknown said...

Joe Smith - "The key is to not be an asshole. Respect their culture. Try to learn the language."

193 countries on this globe, at last count, and it turns out we all want the same thing.