On a trip sponsored by The New York Times in 2019, a student asked award-winning Times journalist Donald McNeil Jr. if he thought a classmate of hers deserved to be suspended for a video she made as a 12-year-old in which she used racist language. McNeil responded using the actual slur in a clarifying question about whether the classmate was rapping or quoting a book title in the video. In February, under pressure from social media users and his colleagues after it was revealed that he used this racial slur when answering the high school student’s question, Mr. McNeil resigned.

Because social media has given people a platform to control the lives of others through an overwhelming mob mentality, this power should come with a greater practice of ethics, and to implement them we need to show tolerance toward mistakes when necessary.

There is no doubt that the use of discriminatory language is awful and should not be accepted. However, this instance lacked understanding of judgement and context. Mr. McNeil did not use this slur to insult or harm anyone, despite his lack of awareness of its harmful effects. He was simply asking a question in a conversation revolving around the word itself which, ironically, had enough power to derail his entire career. Again, I am in no way defending its literal usage, and neither has Mr. McNeil, but incidents in poor taste are different from incidents with clear malicious intent and that disparity should be made clear going forward.

Instead of tearing people like Mr. McNeil down, we need to be educating them and allowing room for growth. If we can filter out the toxicity of cancel culture and instead harbor a more supportive community, it will be healthier for the overall trend of social behavior.