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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Do Like A Bra and "Support!"

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I've always said to myself that if I took the time to try and understand how some people think, that my head would explode. I just can't seem to understand the mindset of our modern-day society.  It doesn't seem like that long ago when people took care of one another and did things in the community's best interest.  Not now.  Everyone is down for self.  "What can I get out of it?"

Hmmph.  It's a shame.  Recently, I had a Twitter follower of mine launch a campaign to be a cover model for a magazine.  She has over 1,000 followers, yet when she launched her campaign, I would guess that less than 50 people actually made an effort to support her.  I could be wrong, but I'm just going off of what I saw.

Now, I know that with her being a model, a lot of people who are following her are just horny dudes (and women) looking for a booty shot Instagram.  I get that.  I just have a hard time believing that they represent the other 950+ followers who chose not to support by retweeting or sending a message during the campaign.

Being from Mississippi, I know all about not being supported. This state has its share of celebrities and musicians, but a majority of them had to leave the state in order to be discovered. Example: rapper, David Banner, was a local guy who was fairly popular in the Jackson nightclub scene. I remember when he dropped his first CD and how few copies he sold. Out of all of the thousands of people in Jackson who had seen him perform in nightclubs or knew him personally, his album sales were piss-poor. He moved to Atlanta, made it big and now all I hear is "That's my homeboy right there! Mississippi born and raised!"

Seriously? He had to change states to make a dollar and now he's your boy? Then, after he shows his allegiance to his new home state of Georgia, you hate on him for not giving back (enough) to Jackson? "Banner won't do shows here any more.  He's changed!"

Because you didn't support him!  He's taking care of the people who embraced him before stardom.

Since I've started blogging, I've encountered tons of talented writers, aspiring musicians, stunning models and more. Each and every chance that I get, I try and help him get exposed to more people. Despite the fact that I only have a couple of hundred followers on Twitter or Facebook, I try to make sure that an extra set of eyes get a glimpse of what could be a future star.

So, if it's The Tsaritsa dropping a CD or my man in Idaho authoring his first book, I have their backs. My followers are their followers. Why? Because people are supposed to help other people. That's a concept that has been lost over the last 50 years. You're supposed to do things and not expect things in return other than a "thank you." I didn't support Naté Jones because I wanted exposure for my blog, a booty call or some payout when she's rich and famous. I supported her because I want to see people succeed.

We need to stop being selfish and learn how to help uplift others. In return, someone down the line may help uplift you. Stop ignoring people you can help and then getting mad at them when they make it big and don't acknowledge you. Why should they? Let's drop the selfish attitude and do like a bra and "support!"



Why do you think our mentality has changed on supporting others' dreams?

6 comments:

  1. Q. Well said, my man, well said. Like a bra, support is a two-way street. Takes a pair of straps to keep an ample bosom high and tight, and it takes both a supporter and responding supportee to make a real relationship.

    I am starting to think that the missing strap on our social support link is entitlement. To many of us feel that we deserve support when we want it but are not required to expend any personal capital to get it.

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    1. Your last sentence is spot-on, Mooner. This false sense of entitlement is ripping this country apart. We all want an "A" for effort when our efforts only warrant an "F."

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  2. I tried the reddit/digg/stumble approach, but it looks like it did no good. It naturally showed up on my triberr as well. What may have helped her out more was a longer list of editors and VIP's at king magazine... more people to tweet?

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    1. Possibly. I'm unsure. But, the effort is appreciated. I just wonder why those who know her didn't even do that much.

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  3. I always try to extend my support for cool people who are out there doing creative and interesting things! I think Mooner's right about entitlement: so many people in our society are only out for themeselves and do not care about helping others. Methinks it has something to do with parents coddling their children as if they were "special little snowflakes."

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    1. Yeah, parents are definitely the blame. I'm mad because those parents are from my generation! The 35-45 yr old crowd has it all wrong when it comes to raising kids. We wanted to be so different and intellectual about it instead of doing the same things that our parents did.

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