Saturday, March 19, 2011

Give This Kid A Break!


Rebecca Black, who produced the You tube song, 'Friday'. People need to get a life and cease making hateful comments about her!


It’s truly sad that the internet has now become (what with the popularity of Facebook and blogs) a kind of "survival of the fittest" human jungle and the province of bullies and n’er do wells who get off largely on piling on to innocent kids, trying to destroy them either by cyber-bullying or tearing down their talents and efforts put on display.

It’s a given now, when one uses the net, that one must not only be on the watch for bullying but the most offensive sorts of speech and behavior, including blogs that are 99% laced with violence, bigotry, crank religious venom or racial hatred. Then there are the often rude and useless comments left on blogs, which serve no purpose other than to allow the perpetrator to vent and often in the most shameful, abrasive and over the top manner. This was one reason I decided to limit comments on my own blog, after several instances of irate, idiot Tea Baggers leaving their offal and verbal excrement behind. So now, posting is reserved to blog members.

This is not the same case for Rebecca Black, a 13-year old who’s only “crime” was in producing an innocent little song (‘Friday’) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0

that also has attracted more than 16 million hits on You tube. Yet to see even a fraction of the hate-filled venom spewed at her online, one would think she’d participated in some kind of war crimes or genocide. The hate and vitriol are totally out of proportion to anything this kid did. The primary motivation for attacks on Rebecca appears to be the lyrics of the song, which truth be told, one wouldn’t see tested on an SAT English Comprehension test. According to one critic, “it’s like counting the days of the week and figuring out which day comes next”. And, errr...so what?

This makes me wonder what volume of pop songs over the past 40-odd years these harsh critics have heard . Any recall of the 60s hit by the Kingsmen, “Louie, Louie”? Oh wow, that was a real piece of work, that! Really cerebral lyrics there! But know what? The teens at the time loved it and it sold millions. (For the band I played in during the mid-60s -Miami's "Green Lights", it was a staple!)

No, Rebecca Black is not the Kingsmen of the 60s, but I can tell you that a swatch of current music I've heard (on rare occasions, via music videos or songs on the radio) don't come near 'Friday' in quality, given that Ms. Black's song is at least in plain English. Also, then – in the 60s- as now, we beheld critics who hated the Kingsmen's song and many schools that refused to play it at dances. Taking offense was beginning to emerge as a full time American pastime.

My best advice to the critics is if you don’t like the song, don’t listen to it! Also, if you played it online out of curiosity and hated it- for the lyrics or whatever reason - move on! You surely have better things to do with your time than to target an innocent kid and especially to write horrific and hateful things about her (including hoping for her death from an "eating disorder" or "cutting" as one disturbed nimrod put it. (If people feel compelled, okay critique the song, but leave the person out of your sights!)

In any case, best regards to Rebecca and good luck in your singing career. As for the bad mouthing idiots, don't take them on or take them seriously! Look at them as more evidence of the estimated 48% in the American population (including assorted Far Right preachers) in dire need of psychotherapy and electro-convulsive treatments.

For the naysayers, cynics and critics, get a life!

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