Last week Rolling Stones announced that Noodle the pug is “officially cancelled”.
Let’s start with a little backstory in case you haven’t heard of Noodles. The 13 year old pug went viral on TikTok for predicting what kind of day it would be based on if he has bones or not (ie: will he stand up in his bed, or flop back over for another snooze). It’s become a forecast that millions of people have tuned into to see what kind of day they’re in for, a new sort of horoscope.
What is a Bones VS No Bones day?
Noodle’s owner explains that a Bones day is a day for being a go getter-- ask for that promotion, go get coffee with your new crush, try that outfit you swore you’d wear but has been collecting dust in your closet for months. Essentially, it’s the universe giving you the green light to attack the day with ambition and zeal.
A No Bones day, alternatively, is a day for rest and recuperation. Putting off big decisions, being kind to yourself, taking that extra bit of care and caution. It isn’t meant to be a “bad” day, just a day where you turn to yourself a bit more.
So… why is a geriatric rescue dog being cancelled?
Rolling Stones say that we’re bordering on the lines of “cheugy” with Noodle, and that the trend has run its course. Which is… pretty ridiculous, and seems a bit laughable at best.
In the age of the 24 hour news cycle, when you can see negative stories and destruction any time you tap your phone, is a pug telling us our horoscope really something to cancel?
It really reinforces the idea that being “cancelled” is a term with little to no merit behind it. How can you cancel someone who has literally been convicted of sexual assault [x], and then turn around and also cancel a pug who literally has no idea they’re internet famous? The term quickly loses all sense of meaning and value.
But it does highlight the wishy-washy nature of the entire phrase.
It also seems to belittle any real growth or change that may come from “cancelling” someone who might actually deserve it. Our attention turns from a topic that may actually need to be attended to, educated on, or really discussed to something… well, just plain silly. Let the people have their fun videos, a reprieve from the daily onslaught of news and real life!
As mentioned before, many people are calling for a cancelling of the entire phrase and a call for a better way to explain it. There are even four different (and rather nuanced) phrases and definitions relating to cancel culture.
“In general, I think that the response to bad speech is more speech,” she (novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) said. “The problem with just sort of no-platforming people, cancelling people, sometimes for the smallest things, I think that it then makes censorship become a thing that we do to ourselves. I often wonder how many people are not saying what they think because they’re terrified. And if that’s happening, how much are we not learning? How much are we not growing?” [ X ]
Regardless, Noodle’s story is a good reminder to take the term “cancelling” with a grain of salt, and to do your own research on the issue at hand.
Happy Bones Day!
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