Admittedly I am a relatively new “fangirl”…and until recently I was just a “fitness girl”.
Now I’m thinking that perhaps I should have stayed that way…
I joined twitter a few years back to share my PlanksGiving fundraiser. And while I have met so many wonderful people that have blessed my life, I have also encountered some things that my “positive planker at heart” is shocked and appalled at!
When has it become okay to hide behind computers/phones and just spew venom and hatred? Just because you have a “fake name” and/or “fake avi” does that make it okay to say whatever you want?
Okay…I get it…freedom of speech! I’m all for it…when used constructively. But when used to spread negativity and for mindless venting at the expense of others…I start to see red!
The biggest targets seem to be the ones we claim that we love the most…celebrities.
Before you start in with the “they get payed the big bucks” and “they know what they signed up for” arguments, let me counter with “they are still human beings” and “we are still responsible for our own actions”.
What inspired this post tonight is the backlash to the cancellation of the Backstreet Boys show in Somerset. Nick Carter was hospitalized for bronchitis and as a result they decided that the show could not go on.
Obviously fans that were looking forward to the show would be upset and disappointed! I know I would be too. However, isn’t the health and well being of a person…a human being…the most important thing?
What happens when you are sick? Do you stay home from school? Do you call out of work? Or if you do go on, do you have to sing and dance for thousands of people after enduring “Meet and Greets” and before crazy “After Parties”? I think not!
As fans, we are on the outside looking in. We don’t know exactly what is going down…and honestly…we don’t have the right. The Backstreet Boys…or insert any group with 20+ years…have done a while lot RIGHT to be around for so long. I think they are owed a little respect!
Yes…fans pay a lot of money…but the celebrities make sacrifices as well.
They sacrifice a “normal life”…or time with their families. They sacrifice privacy that one may not treasure until it is gone. For as much love as they receive, they also are subjected to attacks on their wives and innocent loved ones. It can’t be easy!
I am just a girl from New Jersey who was inspired a few years back by a Backstreet Boy named Nick. One could say he helped save my life and inspired me to fight and become the person I was meant to be. I have heard similar stories from many others as well. To me that is PRICELESS!
I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to remember that things happen in life that we cannot control. Life isn’t perfect…and life isn’t always fair. We hold our “idols” to such a high standard…some forget they are human.
It is okay to be upset…it is okay to feel disappointed…it is okay to feel angry.
But when we put our “wants and desires” before a persons health and well being, it is time to take a step back and reevaluate.
It is never okay to be cruel and to kick a person when they are down!
To quote The Beatles: “And in the end The love you take Is equal to the love you make.”
Think about it…
Love and Planks to all!
Jen