"Shoot the Hostage" May Be the Proverbial Remedy to Cancel Culture
They can't take what you're willing to lose
“All right, pop quiz. Airport. Gunman with one hostage. He's using her for cover; he's almost to a plane. You're a hundred feet away.”
“Shoot the hostage” — Jack
That line from the movie ‘Speed’ is famous because it’s so antithetical to what 99% of people would do.
But it comes from a very accurate concept in negotiation.
The person who wins is the person willing to walk away—because you can’t be pressured into compromising on something you don’t badly want.
Put another way. If you’re willing to lose what they’re threatening they’ll take… You have all the power.
This is something I’m pondering lately, because yesterday someone tried to coerce me into paying them money.
If I didn’t they’d post all over social media about my company’s ethics to dispute a product I was selling, that they felt was close to their own IP.
This ambulance-chasing mentality has become popular, as often, companies choose to capitulate to avoid “cancel culture.” To avoid the wrath of the mob.
But what if we all chose to ‘shoot the hostage’ instead? Proverbially speaking, of course.
If you believe you’re right, just take away the fear of being 'cancelled’ and they’ll have no weapon against you.
“If you don’t care what they say, you’re f*cking bulletproof.” — Ricky Gervais