So YouTube just update their Harassment Policies, and, to be honest, I can't imagine what the fuss is. I mean, they don't want people to physically threaten each other, they don't want people to post content that "repeatedly" insults people based on their race, sex, etc. (they don't exactly define "repeatedly," but I'm sure that ambiguity won't cause any problems). They are definitely taking a "harder line" with content that "insults someone based on their protected group status" (obviously the ambiguity in "insult" and "harder line" won't be a problem, either, and I am quite certain that "based on" won't be misused and misinterpreted).
Oh, and that little phrase thrown in there - "Please note this is not a complete list" - totally cool. Nothing gray about that.
Of course, this ambiguity is a problem. And it isn't a problem because it's cool to insult and make fun of people - it isn't. Not at all. Does that mean, however, that we need to "cancel" everyone who says something "offensive"? Apparently, yes. It now seems as if YouTube can, for any reason they deem necessary, remove your posts, cut your income, or even shut down your channel altogether. But even as hateful speech can be damaging, removing it from society isn't the answer.
YouTuber Olivia Kathryn once noted that the problem with "Cancel Culture" is that it doesn't allow us to be human, to make mistakes, to grow. More than that, it prevents us from offering mercy and grace to other humans who are also making mistakes and growing. By "canceling" people who make mistakes - and there is no one who does not sin - we are, essentially, cutting off a person's ability to learn and change. This includes learning how to apologize.
Just a couple of months ago, I tweeted to someone that she was a liar. I blatantly called her a liar, and it took a couple of days for me to accept that fact that I wasn't qualified to make that judgment, because I didn't actually know that her motivation was to deceive. God really opened my eyes to the fact that I was a jerk. This gave me the opportunity to go back and apologize to her. Apologizing to someone for the entire Internet to see is not pleasant, but it is good. Had I been "canceled" for my tweet, I would have never had that opportunity.
So what do you do if you come across something that insults you? What do you do if you come across something that offends you? Report it? Get that person canceled? You could, I suppose. In fact, it seems to be easier and easier to do that. But then what? How will you help that person grow? If that person is wrong, how will they ever learn the right thing if you cut them off from the people?
And here's an uncomfortable question: what if you're the one who is wrong? What if, instead of the video poster who needs to be canceled, what if it's you? We all need to grow, we all need to change, we all have wrong thinking. All of us. And how will that happen if we never discuss our differences and exchange ideas?
You're anti-abortion and don't understand how someone can be pro-abortion? Ask. You're an atheist and don't understand how someone can be dumb enough to believe Jesus rose from the dead? Ask.
Wonder why someone voted for Trump? Wonder why someone voted for Hillary? Ask. Don't yell. Don't shout. Don't insult or call names . . . talk. And if the other person won't - if he or she continues to shout and insult - then be the better person and walk away. Take that opportunity to grow and mature, even if the other person won't.
I hope YouTube's new policies won't needlessly shut people down. A lot of people try to earn a living on the platform, and I'd hate to see them fail because someone out there cried "foul." I'm not naive enough to think it won't happen, but I fear for them. More than that, I fear for our culture and society, a society that seems hell-bent on stunting its own growth, even as it seems to believe it is making progress.
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