This may seem like a very unusual subject for me to blog about, so I should begin by stating that I’m not a Justin Bieber fan. What I’ve heard of his music I quite like, and I do in fact have a couple of his songs downloaded from iTunes. A 20-something visitor to our home earlier this year was aghast that I was playing one of his tracks, and that an 'old man' could possibly be in touch with that kind of music. But apart from this very loose connection, I’ve no real axe to grind either for or against him.
But I have recently noticed a couple of things happening in his life which I thought were worthy of comment because of their broader implications:
The first happened a few weeks back when he was touring in the UK. At one point during one of his shows, he reproached the audience for screaming so much that they could not possibly hear the music they had paid to come and hear. He termed their response ‘obnoxious’. Later in the show he tried to talk to the audience about things that were important to him, and connect with the vast crowd. Yet during this musical ‘downtime’, his so-called fans started jeering and shouting at him to stop talking and start singing. Clearly disillusioned, he walked off stage and did not return for some while.
The fan responses after this occurrence, mostly expressed through Twitter and other social media, were largely condemnatory. Even those who espoused to love him and his work were vicious in their disapproval, accusing him of being "too full of himself" and 'totally out of order". And I am very much toning down on the strength of the actual comments made!
The more recent event occurred when he was touring in Spain. Whilst driving to a performance in Barcelona, a fan rushed to the open window of his car and apparently stuck his hand inside the vehicle to touch Justin. The latter responded by punching the fan in the face. Again, the condemnation was swift, and social media networks lit up with criticism and hurtful comments about Mr Bieber. The fan has reportedly put the matter in the hands of lawyers.
I get that when you put yourself in the public eye and aspire to a life of fame and fortune, you also implicitly agree to put yourself at risk from all the fickleness and vicissitudes of human nature. I acknowledge that Justin Bieber is by no means the first to receive the kind of mass adoration, that prompts unusual and even extreme responses from adoring fans. I understand that he has some degree of culpability for whatever befalls him. But that doesn’t stop me from being appalled at the way he’s being treated both by his fans and the media.
Whatever you think of him, love him or hate him (and it seems he does promote polar responses amongst those who are of an age to be aware of him in any meaningful way) the treatment being meted out towards him is both egregious and grossly insensitive. More than anything else, it is a reflection upon the way our basic human values are being distorted for no other reason than an unthinking perversity, which does nobody participating in its willful distortions any credit whatsoever.
Let’s review the two situations (and there are many more I have noted over time) from the perspective of a neutral observer.
If you were being screamed at mindlessly by people who were caught up in irrational and rather childish mass hysteria, stopping them from enjoying something they had notionally paid good money to enjoy, and you were bothered about the quality of their experience of what you were there to deliver for them, wouldn’t you be upset? Have you ever been screamed at incessantly, or even heard constant screaming on a TV show? Don’t you find it obnoxious? Do you think you would be justified in letting the screamer(s) know how you felt? And if someone rudely shouted you down when you were merely trying to relate to them, wouldn’t you feel justified in walking away in the face of such unreasonable behavior.
If somebody reached out towards you, a stranger, unbidden, without permission, with unclear intent, wouldn’t it be your natural response to defend yourself? Isn’t it the case that at least half of the male population if touched under such circumstances, would hit the person making the contact, because it would appear that they were being physically assaulted? Are you aware that by legal definition, irrespective of the force used to make physical contact, the actions of touching someone else can constitute not assault, but battery? Did you know that the law does not allow for us to go and touch one another with dubious intent willy-nilly; but that it does, protect us from unwanted encounters of this ilk?
Yet tens of thousands are crying ‘foul’ and decrying Justin Bieber, simply because of his status and fame.
So why does any of this bother me? Well, I see a much bigger issue behind all of this:
Mr Bieber’s treatment is only one manifestation of this ghastly phenomenon. I could have picked numerous other examples it affecting a myriad horde of aspects of our devolving society. But I’ve picked him because it’s so screamingly (pardon the pun) obvious and, I believe, relatable. If we were to take him as an example and strip away the utter nonsense that the media has built up about him, how many of us would be able to notice a sensitive and caring individual who genuinely wants to do good, cares deeply about what he does, and is struggling to make his way against the deluge of negativity that dog his every move? Would we be able to acknowledge the fact that he’s a human being with rights to be respected, as we would demand them for ourselves? How many of us would be blinded by the notion that he’s merely paying the price for fame and fortune?
But even more tellingly, how many of us, when faced with these challenges of self realisation, would be prepared to admit that this level of shallow and unempathetic reasoning is in danger of colouring the way we look at all aspects of what goes on in the world today? And if we were brave enough to be able to face this particular reality with its apparent indictment of ourselves, would we actually be strong enough to do anything about it?
It’s a crucial aspect of learning and growth that we all must face.
But I have recently noticed a couple of things happening in his life which I thought were worthy of comment because of their broader implications:
The first happened a few weeks back when he was touring in the UK. At one point during one of his shows, he reproached the audience for screaming so much that they could not possibly hear the music they had paid to come and hear. He termed their response ‘obnoxious’. Later in the show he tried to talk to the audience about things that were important to him, and connect with the vast crowd. Yet during this musical ‘downtime’, his so-called fans started jeering and shouting at him to stop talking and start singing. Clearly disillusioned, he walked off stage and did not return for some while.
The fan responses after this occurrence, mostly expressed through Twitter and other social media, were largely condemnatory. Even those who espoused to love him and his work were vicious in their disapproval, accusing him of being "too full of himself" and 'totally out of order". And I am very much toning down on the strength of the actual comments made!
The more recent event occurred when he was touring in Spain. Whilst driving to a performance in Barcelona, a fan rushed to the open window of his car and apparently stuck his hand inside the vehicle to touch Justin. The latter responded by punching the fan in the face. Again, the condemnation was swift, and social media networks lit up with criticism and hurtful comments about Mr Bieber. The fan has reportedly put the matter in the hands of lawyers.
I get that when you put yourself in the public eye and aspire to a life of fame and fortune, you also implicitly agree to put yourself at risk from all the fickleness and vicissitudes of human nature. I acknowledge that Justin Bieber is by no means the first to receive the kind of mass adoration, that prompts unusual and even extreme responses from adoring fans. I understand that he has some degree of culpability for whatever befalls him. But that doesn’t stop me from being appalled at the way he’s being treated both by his fans and the media.
Whatever you think of him, love him or hate him (and it seems he does promote polar responses amongst those who are of an age to be aware of him in any meaningful way) the treatment being meted out towards him is both egregious and grossly insensitive. More than anything else, it is a reflection upon the way our basic human values are being distorted for no other reason than an unthinking perversity, which does nobody participating in its willful distortions any credit whatsoever.
Let’s review the two situations (and there are many more I have noted over time) from the perspective of a neutral observer.
If you were being screamed at mindlessly by people who were caught up in irrational and rather childish mass hysteria, stopping them from enjoying something they had notionally paid good money to enjoy, and you were bothered about the quality of their experience of what you were there to deliver for them, wouldn’t you be upset? Have you ever been screamed at incessantly, or even heard constant screaming on a TV show? Don’t you find it obnoxious? Do you think you would be justified in letting the screamer(s) know how you felt? And if someone rudely shouted you down when you were merely trying to relate to them, wouldn’t you feel justified in walking away in the face of such unreasonable behavior.
If somebody reached out towards you, a stranger, unbidden, without permission, with unclear intent, wouldn’t it be your natural response to defend yourself? Isn’t it the case that at least half of the male population if touched under such circumstances, would hit the person making the contact, because it would appear that they were being physically assaulted? Are you aware that by legal definition, irrespective of the force used to make physical contact, the actions of touching someone else can constitute not assault, but battery? Did you know that the law does not allow for us to go and touch one another with dubious intent willy-nilly; but that it does, protect us from unwanted encounters of this ilk?
Yet tens of thousands are crying ‘foul’ and decrying Justin Bieber, simply because of his status and fame.
So why does any of this bother me? Well, I see a much bigger issue behind all of this:
- We are developing a society that regularly demonstrates a complete lack of empathy and consideration for our fellow beings.
- It is too easy for us to view what goes on around us from a superficial standpoint.
- We are not interested in the broader truths of whatever facts may be discerned in any situation.
- We eschew consideration or reasonableness in our thoughts towards others.
- We seem unable to put ourselves in their shoes and work to see their perspectives.
- We are insensitive to outcomes that affect others, and careless as to their causes.
- We are all too content to accept hearsay nonsense and accept the status quo.
- We almost relish our perceived lack of empowerment to make any difference to society around us, or even to hold ourselves accountable for our personal actions.
- We append condemnatory views to a noxious surge of feeling without allowing ourselves reflection, or even trying to remain objective, about what’s really going on.
- We see things only from the way in which they impact us personally, immediately, and have precious little consideration for wider implications that may affect other beings.
Mr Bieber’s treatment is only one manifestation of this ghastly phenomenon. I could have picked numerous other examples it affecting a myriad horde of aspects of our devolving society. But I’ve picked him because it’s so screamingly (pardon the pun) obvious and, I believe, relatable. If we were to take him as an example and strip away the utter nonsense that the media has built up about him, how many of us would be able to notice a sensitive and caring individual who genuinely wants to do good, cares deeply about what he does, and is struggling to make his way against the deluge of negativity that dog his every move? Would we be able to acknowledge the fact that he’s a human being with rights to be respected, as we would demand them for ourselves? How many of us would be blinded by the notion that he’s merely paying the price for fame and fortune?
But even more tellingly, how many of us, when faced with these challenges of self realisation, would be prepared to admit that this level of shallow and unempathetic reasoning is in danger of colouring the way we look at all aspects of what goes on in the world today? And if we were brave enough to be able to face this particular reality with its apparent indictment of ourselves, would we actually be strong enough to do anything about it?
It’s a crucial aspect of learning and growth that we all must face.