It’s so hard to know what anything means anymore. Our fellow Americans are using language in recklessly novel ways, which has the effect of shattering the centuries of shared understanding and history that underly our efforts to understand each other. I no longer trust I know what the simplest word means.
Take “canceled,” for example.
I was recently touring through my Twitter feed when I was arrested by this statement from one of our illustrious members of the People’s House, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan:
Just as three points indicate a straight line, perhaps these three examples could help me understand more precisely what that word, “canceled,” means these days.
I was nervous at first. Based on my previous usage and understanding, I believed the word involved a sudden and complete end to something, and as applied to a person, it implied severe or even painful repercussions for the individuals who had been canceled. I thought of political prisoners or murder victims. I carefully searched for the first individual cited by Mr. Jordan, Drew Brees, fearing I would find a GoFundMe account set up to pay for some form of post-cancelation reconstructive therapy not covered by insurance or to cover gas money for the rental van that would carry Mr. Brees, his family, and all their possessions to a distant community of social outcasts.
No, it seems Mr. Brees is still employed as a quarterback by the New Orleans Saints for an annual salary amounting to many millions of dollars. According to his own Instagram and Twitter posts, he has recently enjoyed a fishing trip with his sons, as well as watching lacrosse and the movie Braveheart.
So the definition of canceled has gotten a little fuzzy here. It has something to do with making millions of dollars and having to watch Mel Gibson. The next example should help clarify.
Mike Gundy is the head football coach at Oklahoma State University. Since his cancelation, he has had to agree to a 1 million dollar pay cut. That had to hurt. If I were forced to take a 1 million dollar pay cut, I would have a salary of almost -1 million. Mr. Gundy’s salary has now plummeted to 4 million. So, yeah, it must be hard to fall that far, but the four million bucks makes a nice cushion.
Look at this another way: 4 million dollars is not even ten times the salary of the president of Oklahoma State University. Mr. Gundy used to be well above that 10:1 athlete-to-geek ratio. I suspect it will seriously affect his self-esteem to be a little less than ten times richer than the head academic officer of his university.
Finally, we have the sad case of James Harden, who was canceled and is now… practicing with his team in preparation to compete for the NBA championship. His team is currently tied for fourth-best odds to win that championship, according to Caesars Entertainment. I suppose there’s a lot of stress involved in not having better odds. I won’t mention here how much Mr. Harden makes after being canceled—it would make Mr. Gundy too sad.
Let’s think about what all these cases of cancelation have in common.
“Canceled” means continuing to earn an enormous salary. So it wouldn’t apply to the millions laid off during the COVID-19 crisis. They haven’t been canceled, they’ve been “shifted” from having a livelihood to becoming intimately familiar with food banks.
“Canceled” means continuing to be at liberty to go where you want and to post on Instagram about leisure activities. So it wouldn’t apply to the protestors who have been snatched off the streets in Portland by unidentified federal agents and stuffed into unmarked cars. (Including a minivan on at least one occasion, and can’t we all agree that violates human rights?) The disappeared haven’t been canceled, they’ve been “aggressively carpooled.”
“Canceled” means remaining in good health and able to shoot a three-pointer or throw a tight spiral. So it wouldn’t apply to Christopher David, the Navy veteran who had his hand broken in multiple places when he was beaten by federal troops for peacefully protesting. He was “granted rehab opportunities,” perhaps.
“Canceled” applies to sports figures who go on working at the highest levels of their profession. So it wouldn’t apply to Colin Kaepernick, who was drummed out of the NFL. What happened to him? Was he “double-super-secret-extra canceled”?
“Canceled” does, in all these cases, seem to mean that one has to answer questions about one’s actions, intentions, and statements. So I can see why Mr. Jordan sees that as a dire threat.