Brokedown Palace is a 1999 film chronicling the story of two American, young women who get arrested for smuggling heroin while vacationing in Thailand. Inspired by true events, the women unwittingly had the drugs planted in their bags while at the airport. Despite proclaiming their innocence, pertinent evidence was ignored, and their testimony fell on deaf ears. A fractured, biased justice system failed them, and the women were sentenced to 33 years in prison.
These arbitrary, slap-dash court procedures are not uncommon in many parts of the world. History teaches us that constructing objective and fair justice systems does not come instinctively to human nature. Early American immigrants also encountered wrongful government persecution for holding political and religious beliefs at variance with the “intolerista” of their day and fled.
In Other Words, “Cancel Culture” is Nothing New
To avoid repeat problems, early Americans strove to compose an equitable and impartial courtroom in this country. They created a justice system based on one basic principle: you are innocent until proven guilty.
This concept has been tossed aside like yesterday’s takeout in recent years. Our historical, time-tested justice system has always insisted that any accused person or institution deserves a fair trial, clear evidence of wrongdoing, a chance for both sides to state their case, and multiple witnesses before reaching a verdict of guilt. While no justice system can be perfect, upholding these tenets has created stability and minimized instances of wrongful convictions.
Don’t Let Your Bank Cancel You
It is the difference between what gives someone the authority to sentence someone versus the power. Unfortunately, today, many banks possess this power.
In recent years, many Americans are hotly pursuing cheap, schoolyard forms of justice in which the bully with the biggest stick wins. “Justice Warriors,” with a bee in their bonnets, are trolling the internet on the rampage, “canceling” people like freshly graduated traffic cops with ticket complexes.
As a result, cultural pressure has been placed on many banks and financial institutions to follow suit and cancel their clients simply for entertaining “wrong” opinions.
Welcome to the Jungle
“Cancel culture,” Mike Proulx, Vice-President and Research Director at Forrester, says, “devolved into a weaponized and politicized mob-like action now, where people are amplifying on social media based on ‘hot takes.’”
Cancel culture instigators claim to be holding people accountable for “perceived wrongdoings.” However, this “perception of wrong” is biased, arbitrary, self-serving, and lacking accountability.
Many innocent people have lost their livelihoods without recourse to any real justice. They were tried, judged, and sentenced in some bizarre alternate reality behind closed doors. If someone posts the wrong thing on social media, they could lose college scholarships, jobs, or financial security.
Portage Will Never Cancel You
At Portage Bank, we think that this should be a given. We actually think that not getting canceled is setting the bar pretty low. You should be able to bank freely without the added worry of possibly being fined because you have opinions.
If you are looking for a bank that won’t suddenly decline your card, freeze your accounts, or terminate services based on an arbitrary, biased, and trumped-up justice system, then we are the bank for you. We are a smaller bank that believes in freedom, integrity, and honor.
As bank cancellations are becoming more frequent, we don’t know what direction the future might take us. Place your finances with people you can trust. Contact us today to find out how we can help grow your wealth, invest, take out loans, protect your money, and help you sleep, knowing that you will not be canceled by us now or ever.
