I will preface this blog with the disclaimer that I know that I have been afforded some pretty great opportunities where our guys are concerned. I will never forget those times, nor do I take them for granted. That being said, I will also never expect them to give anything to me. They owe me nothing.
And guess what?
They don't owe you anything either.
Someone vomited an RT into my Twitter timeline today where someone said they hoped Jordan's bus crashes. Why? Because he didn't take a minute to take a picture with her last night.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Sadly, this isn't the first time I've heard of something like this happening: People getting pissed because they don't get the attention they desire. I've seen it at concerts, after parties, tv tapings and on the cruise.
I understand the need for validation and the desire to feel appreciated. I do. What I don't understand is the warped mindset that these guys are at our disposal - to be at our beck and call 100% of their time. This is their job - not their lives. While I know they take it seriously, please try, for a moment, to realize that they give FAR more to us than most musicians. Take Backstreet Boys, for instant. Isn't their Meet and Greet behind a gate? For VIP with Bon Jovi, you don't even get to MEET them. You're paying $700 for good seats and the chance at Richie Sambora flicking a guitar pick at you. Woo.
I had a conversation with an acquaintance last month who was talking about someone who'd seen Joe at the Miami airport after the cruise. The woman had asked for a picture and he made a remark alluding to the fact that he was "off the clock." The woman was disappointed (understandably so) and my acquaintance was relaying the story. "She paid for time with him, why did he refuse her?" was the general gist of the conversation between my friend and I that day. I tried to put it in perspective. "No. She paid for a cruise. On that cruise, there are events where she may see him, meet him or interact with him. She did not, however, pay for time before or after that cruise where she might run into him. He doesn't owe her or anyone else anything once he left that boat." (The girl at the airport and I have recently talked and she clarified that she was understanding of the situation with Joe. The affect of the conversation was my friend's opinion of the situation.)
Bottom line is, we can be hopeful, but to go into a situation with expectations is just asking for disappointment. Just because we buy concert tickets or splurge for VIP at an after-party, it doesn't guarantee that we're going to have even an exchanged glance with the guys. Everything we do is a choice - we can choose to spend the money on 5* or we can choose not to. We can choose to be at a concert (or six) or choose to stay home. We can also choose to act graciously and maturely when our expectations aren't met. Or, you can choose to act like a spoiled six year old when you don't get what you want.
What's it gonna be?
