mind your following

kurt cobain didn't want jocks and racists to come to his shows or buy his albums and i respect that. if your art is an extension of you, then shouldn't you only want your art to be well received by people you could possibly stand to be around in person? unfortunately fame is probably like some monster run wild and there's no controlling who consumes you. in all likelihood, behind every famous face is a fanbase filled with people that person would despise. i know if i was in that position, i'd offer racists their money back for the album they purchased and tell them to fuck off.

but that's not how the world works. being famous, no matter how you accomplish it, is a business. money is what matters. there's bills to be paid and a livelihood at stake (possibly multiple livelihoods). it's all well and good to be chock full of principle when you're chasing a hobby while you clock in at some 9-5 that has no correlation with your dreams. but once your dreams start to become a reality, you have to treat it as such. or i like to think that's how it goes. otherwise i'd imagine there'd be a lot more celebrities offering buybacks on goods purchased from douchebags and meatheads globally.

but then some people take that following and run with it. fuck it, what else can you do but let it run amok all in your name. all of the sudden anytime someone pisses you off on twitter, you have thousands of nitwits ready to abuse them online. they'll do your bidding. oh, the power. that has to be nice. it takes a lot to get famous. a lot of people shit on you along the way. how grand is it to stand atop a pedestal and take no shit from no one anymore because your asshat audience has your back.

but at what point does it become obvious that the stereotype of your fanbase is a clueless asshole who can't think for themselves? when does that stop being fun and start turning into a reflection of the person you happen to be? all these idiots, and their common denominator is you. what's the attraction? do they see themselves in you? is it the asshole in you that brings out the asshole in them?

i'm sure there's no foolproof way to keep all the crazies out of your fort. but at what point do you call off the dogs and tell 'em to go build houses for the homeless instead? it's already a cruel world. you don't need to waste your few minutes in this existential spotlight playing the role of some pied piper who only attracts the village idiots. or maybe you do. maybe you've just been one of them yourself all along.