He reminds you of someone you once knew, in high school or maybe junior high. That kid. The one with the best hair even though he made it look effortless. The one with the best clothes but never payed much attention to them; he had a cool look by nature. He was talented, whoa, he was talented. He played sports which you were never particularly good at, and because of this you decided that being a musician would get you that rebel, underground, suffer for the arts, my sound is inspired by Jack Kerouac swag. You played in garage bands all year, knowing that it would give you an edge, and then you discover that this kid can jam, and I mean jam just as good if not better than you. To add insult to injury, when once asked he thought Jack Kerouac starred in the Shining.
He reminds you of someone you once knew, in high school or maybe junior high. That kid. The one you secretly had a crush on, and even though he was always kind to you, he could never fully belong to you. The one that dated your rival, yes, the best looking girl in school. He was talented, whoa, he was talented. People just gravitated towards him in ways they never did towards you. So you decided to join student government and become socially conscious. You spent weeks fund raising for children in poverty because you knew it would give you that professional, high brow, I'm morally superior swag, and then you discovered that this kid raised money and I mean raised just as much if not more money than you. Just to add insult to injury, when once asked he thought Africa was a country and he was stoned half the time he done it.
He reminds me of someone I once knew, in high school or maybe junior high. That kid. And even years later he remained that effortless talent, that kid that was always just a little bit better than I was. I was fortunate to speak with him, to drink with him and to talk about life with him. He was still beautiful, still smart, still rich and still friendly. But what I learned shocked me, that through all those years he thought the exact same of me. He remembered cheating off my test, me embarrassing him on the basketball court and yes, even stealing a girl from him. A girl I never really liked, but I stole her nonetheless. We laughed. Life had moved on. He had his problems, I had my own. We had both become our own "selves". We had crafted them with great detail. And it worked.
It is a bit disheartening to see the media and public force Justin Bieber to apologize for being who and what he is. They have not bothered to give him a chance to mature on his own terms just like they once had to in their own young lives. They want him to be humble. They want him to tone down. But most of all, they want him to be less. Less important, less successful, less rich, less everything that they are not. The hatred towards Justin Bieber is insidious and deceptive. The real dissatisfaction comes from within, Justin Bieber has very literally become a fertile reservoir of our own self doubt and loathing; for some small and nominal, for others far deeper and insecure. The rationale is quite immature "you can be talented, you can even be great, but you must show me (the common man or woman) some gratitude." Why? Because by continually caressing and appeasing my insecurities and self loathing you become a better person? The fact that we need celebrities to motivate us or feed into our self confidence is not only sad but it is a deeply selfish and vain pursuit. If you despise Justin Bieber, first ask, Why? Ill bet that it has very little to do with him and everything to do with you.
Justin I apologize. I get jealous sometimes but its only because I wanted to be at that party too….dick. Hey, Jacqueminot's got your back.
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