So, we canceled the nepo babies; what now?

Point of view

- By ANGEL MARTINEZ

Gen Z's collective proclivity to cancel culture is often considered our fatal flaw. Some say we are cruel for revoking others' right to grow from their mistakes, and for demanding an unrealistic level of perfection from public figures. But recently, our efforts paid off.

A whirlwind of events led to widespread outrage over so-called nepo babies, or children of government officials and contractors who allegedly misused the government's budget for flood control projects to finance their lavish lifestyles. The likes of Claudine Co, Gela Marasigan, Gela Alonte and the Enciso twins are on blast for their international shopping sprees, luxury cars and round-trip private jets plastered on their Instagram pages and vlogs.

During the launch of Filipino Perspectives Digest's inaugural issue in partnership between WR Numero and PhilstarLife, content creator and youth advocate Janina Vela said that what she loves about our generation is that we "talk and talk and talk and talk and talk, and we won't stop until everyone in the room is listening." And it's true! Our ways of expressing dissent and demanding accountability are repetitive to the point of being inescapable. Through scathing, shareable content, we force those in the spotlight into silence and account suspension.

But while I'd hate to dampen anyone's spirits, I must say that we're still not angry enough. Or, at the very least, angry at the right things.