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Reader question: Please explain "cancel culture", as in "This time, cancel culture doesn't seem to be working." My comments: In other words, this time, boycotting someone or something isn't working. Cancel culture used to be known as the all powerful boycott. In plain English, it's called shunning, as in, "many Americans have been shunning facial masks for months." The dictionary definition of "cancel," is, per Lexico.com, to "(of a factor or circumstance) neutralize or negate the force or effect of (another)". For example, your good work and bad work sometimes cancel each other out, meaning you don't get much done and even if you do, you don't achieve the result you have been looking for. In other words, it's been a waste of time. In cancel culture, people usually try to put some celebrity or a politician on the spot by calling out their misdeed. And they do this through boycott - They'll no longer go to the live concert of a singer, for example, or they'll troll a politician online for something intolerable he's said or done. This, from an actual story from CNN.com (Why 'cancel culture' doesn't always work, September 21, 2019 ): When people say they're canceling a famous person, that's essentially what they're trying to do. They want to take away their power or their cultural capital. They want to diminish their significance, whether it's a personal boycott or a public shaming. | 
