The world can be a cruel place.

[rogueslayer452]

I'm sure everyone's heard about the Justin Bieber fiasco by now. Quite frankly there are so many things that need to be said in what he said during that interview and the outrage that it rightfully created. However I think this pretty much sums up my thoughts and feelings on the entire issue, way better articulated than I could ever have done. Even if misquoted, his age and naivety are no excuse for the impact of his words and what it says about our society and how we view these things with the lack of education and empathy.

There are plenty of things that have enraged and disappointed me regarding the news and what's been happening politically. There's so much hatred and discrimination and people actually trying to justify and reason for it is absolutely disgusting and inhumane, I can't. -__-

But sometimes you get that spark of hope. Like learning that Hawaii approving civil unions for same-sex couples. ♥

Comments

[himhilien.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that link.

I read his comment about Korea and how "whatever they have in Korea, that’s bad." It isn't like there isn't two Koreas with vastly different governments. It isn't like there was a border conflict between North Korea and South Korea that ended with two South Korean marines dead that was huge international news late last year. Nope.

I'd like for him to tell my extended family to cross the 38th parallel to their faces.

I didn't know about Hawaii legalizing same-sex unions. Yay for them!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It seems like he really doesn't know much about what he's saying, he lacks any kind of understanding on such things and normally I wouldn't give a frak about what Justin Bieber says about anything however, these are seriously heavy topics to be discussing. Something that he really should know the warnings about the impact his words will have, and how it'll be received by the public.

:/

[kalikahuntress.livejournal.com]

I can't stand how people are brushing this off because of his age; he is old enough to start learning about the world and have some empathy. Society keeps brushing things like this aside and then they wonder why so many kids are a mess.
ETA: I get that he is still a teen but he will never learn anything if someone doesn't really call him out on this and tell him he should really try and educate himself before he opens his mouth or he is going to offend people. Its an important lesson and one I hope he learn soon because the little turd has way too much influence with some young people as it is.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I completely agree.

It's the argument that he doesn't know any better, kids are still learning, their brains aren't fully grown to understand, that really baffles me when these things arise. I understand the psychological differences, however that doesn't mean he shouldn't understand what he said was insensitive. His age shouldn't dismiss him from understanding the sensitivity of the topic itself and what he says will create a huge impact altogether. Kids aren't stupid, they just need to be more educated on the subject to really understand the magnitude of the issue itself.

I do hope he learns from this, because it can really prevent other blowups in the future. I may not like him, but even if he didn't know what he was getting into he needs to learn from this mistake.

[aubade-saudade.livejournal.com]

maybe it's that i have a niece who is a teenager and i still remember the shit i said when i was a teenager, but i do think that the fact that he is a teenager IS a factor. psychologically, he's still trying to create his moral compass and he might think he believes in things which can be cross-stitched into his granny's crafty cliched collection.

caveat: this is my opinion, because when he said "everything happens to for a reason" i think he's talking about the baby, not the rape. if he's talking about the rape, then he's a shit-sniffing douchebag and i hope he grows out of it. for his sake, really. nobody wants to be the next Charlie Sheen.

edited for fuckery and inappropriate icon.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It is true that he's a teenager, and he's psychologically trying to find his own morality and understanding it, and like everyone we've all shaped and molded ourselves overtime and our viewpoints have changed from learning and what we've experienced in our lives. However that shouldn't be an excuse for the insensitivity of his words. And if he is a teenager saying these things, shouldn't he be called out on such an insensitive comment, even if he truly didn't understand the weight those words would stir up such a reaction? This is how kids learn, and even after saying that he never been in such a position and that he isn't one to judge, he really should have just said that instead of getting into hot water.

This is why kids, while they are still learning and questioning and molding their own opinions with the world around them as they should, need more elaborate education on such subject matters that are highly controversial.

this is my opinion, because when he said "everything happens to for a reason" i think he's talking about the baby, not the rape.

But what about a baby that was a result of the rape itself? "Everything happens for a reason" implies, in that context, that the rape was necessary for that baby to have been born. This is lacking any kind of empathy for the women in question and the trauma she had went through.

[aubade-saudade.livejournal.com]

the way our education works, is that nobody wants to get into controversy because well, instead of teaching tolerance and 'bout being zen under a barrage of disagreements, there's always the danger that somebody's gonna protest, and somebody's gonna get canned. so there's like, this ethical void or whatever, cause silence is easier than espousing critical thinking and teaching values or something.

that's exactly the thing. once there's a pregnancy involved, the rule seems to be that the focus is completely on the baby disregarding all else. to me, it's more about the pervasive rape culture than Beiber himself.

i do think he should get the consequences due to him, but i don't think it should be all about him. i'm not sure i'm explaining myself clearly.

like, don't shoot the idjit messenger? shoot the assholes who created the message? yeah, something like that.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Have you read the rest of what he said in that interview? It's the same spewing of ignorance and lacking any kind of self-edit. Even at 16, he should know when to pause and understand that these questions could potentially be a "make or break it" if he words them incorrectly or if it gets translated wrong. Which with the way he spoke, he sounded inarticulate and rather immature to even be answering them properly without a publicist nearby, let alone being asked.

:/

[mulder200.livejournal.com]

Yay for Hawaii!

As for Justin, sigh! His age should not be used as an excuse for ignorance. Someone in his camp should have told him better.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Judging from many other quotes from that interview, he definitely sounds very ignorant. And these are serious and heavy topics that were being asked, which are touchy things to even answer blindly and in a dismissive manner.

I wonder where his publicist was. This is something most try to avoid.

[a-carnal-mink.livejournal.com]

While I know that 16-year-old boys aren't exactly the most outwardly intelligent and sensitive beings on the planet, reading about this blow-up the other day truly made me question if, perhaps, Bieb*r has been deprived of a hell of a lot of basic education while he's been pushed into the spotlight.

But it nevertheless appalls me to hear that folk are defending him. (Although... of course they are. *rolls eyes* Sycophantic fuckers.) The kid is almost 17 - quite apart from the fact that he should have SOME sense at all or that, being in the public eye, he shoulda been drilled about sensitive subjects and how to deal with them by a publicist (ever hear any of the Harry Potter kids come out with this sort of shit? No, me neither. Those kids are publicity trained - for their own good and for the bottom-line [money] of The Company. You'd think something similar would be done for this little shit, too.), there is quite another issue here as well. Kids younger than him commit rape.

Such insensitive comments about rape coming from a kid who's physically mature enough to be sexually active himself are, frankly, chilling.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The other things he said were just as ignorant and immature. I know sometimes teenagers can't really articulate properly what they truly mean, but this kid is in the public light. Where was his publicist? Shouldn't he know how to self-edit himself or pause and think before answering when realizing these kinds of questions are too controversial to make a offhanded response to?

[moonofwinds.livejournal.com]

His age sure as hell isn't an excuse. I was debating the ethic behind Pearl Harbor and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at that age and I had well rounded and well researched reasons for my opinions. I was also staunchly pro-choice and again had well researched reasons for my opinions.

He doesn't get a pass from me because he's 16. He gets a smack on the back of the head and the stern direction to know his shit before he speaks or not to speak at all. I hope his handlers get him some better tutors.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's been speculated by others that these weren't his own formed opinions, but rather the viewpoints instilled by his incredibly hardcore religious mother. But that's still no excuse for him to comment on stuff he hardly is educated much about.

I hope that he starts thinking for himself in those departments, researching and gaining his own opinion, along with learning when to self-edit himself during such interviews and/or calling upon his publicists. Seriously. Just reading the rest of the interview is cringe-worthy because it shows his naivety and ignorance, it's embarrassing.

[turnbluetogrey.livejournal.com]

For a 16 year old he sounds pretty immature regarding these topics. And yes, the interviewer probably overestimated him by asking such serious questions but it's not as if he couldn't get out of the situation without being a total douche. If you're not mature enough to discuss politics and abortion, you just don't.
The problem is that the zombified younger part of his fans would take everything he says for an absolute truth.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Plus, have you seen the other quotes from that interview? He definitely sounds quite immature and ignorant about many topics. It makes you wonder, where was his publicist? Or more importantly, where was his self-edit button? I understand that people have opinions and thoughts but, seriously, know what you are talking about before you open your mouth. Especially if you are a famous teenager who has major influence on younger fans.

Oh, and I've seen that you've added me. Hello there! :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

About what, the Justin Bieber thing? It's kind of hard not to avoid it since the issue itself hits a stinging nerve.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

True, especially since the rest of the interview contained the same kind of ignorant comments, I wouldn't expect him to make any kind of intellectual statement about anything. Normally I wouldn't care about anything this kid did.

However, it's the attitude of which his questionable statements that have grabbed more attention than anything else. Because of his celebrity and main influence on his younger fans, there are reasons why people in the spotlight have publicists and there is also a thing called tact. There are times and places to answer these kinds of questions, however Rolling Stones isn't one of them (and from what I've heard, the magazine just doesn't give two shits about tactfulness with their interviews with celebrities lately). Even if the speculation is that these are just opinions instilled to him by his own hardcore religious mother, to comment offhandedly about a serious topic like rape/abortion is still unsettling.