Virtue signalling and cancel culture are two sides of the same equation. The first is about celebrating the correct values, the second is about condemning non-compliance. The first is about propagation, the second is about protection. They are complementary methods of campaigning for the cause. They are the inevitable product of morality.
But virtue signalling and cancel culture are not symmetrical. While we always feel the need to celebrate our cause, we do not always feel the need to protect it. The latter instinct only arises where we perceive vulnerability
This is not a high threshold as we tend to perceive everything we value as vulnerable. We worry about these things and have a heightened sense of vigilance in relation to any threat. But still, there is a distinction between general anxiety and the apprehension of imminent danger.
Consider the sports fan, a conspicuous example of the enthusiastic modern signaller.
This fan is often heard denouncing the administrators, referees and journalists who are apparently conspiring against the favoured team. But this is a rather mild variant of cancel culture because there is no obvious vulnerability. Even the most ferocious supporter would concede that sport is not a matter of life and death. Hence this person’s engagement in cancellation pales in comparison to their loud and excessive signalling. Here is an example of the asymmetry between signalling and cancellation. Virtue signalling is evergreen, cancel culture requires a crisis to reach full potency.
When such a crisis arrives, the traditional roles of signalling and cancellation are set aside. Normally signalling promotes the cause and cancellation protects it. But in a time of perceived crisis, signalling becomes a protective mechanism. For example, we wave a flag for the marginalised group to protect them from self-harm. We assert the right narrative to dissuade the wrong narrative. Here is an example of virtue signalling and cancel culture working together towards the same defensive purpose.
That scenario demonstrates the complementary nature of signalling and cancellation. But since the trigger for cancel culture is not always present, the relationship between these behaviours is not always symmetrical. One can occur without the other.
Isamu Drayya, October 2022
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Government virtue signalling and cancel culture
isamu drayya 