In the past week there have been several high-profile stories in the news, some of which deserve the attention – and some of which definitely don’t.
Firstly, there has been the tragic plane crash in the French Alps, a crash that killed 150 people, in what appears to have been an act of suicide, for reasons as yet unestablished. This is a very sad time for a great many families, who have suddenly had loved ones ripped away from them, in horrific circumstances, and my heart goes out to them. It’s impossible to imagine what must have been going through the mind of the co-pilot as he deliberately set the plane on a crash course – we will probably never know the truth of the matter.
Also in the news is the news that, after much wrangling, the BBC has sacked Jeremy Clarkson. Now, even a cursory glance at the BBC comments pages (not to mention Facebook and Twitter) reveals that Clarkson has a huge following who believe he should keep his job. Now, I dare say he certainly brings flair to Top Gear – there’s no doubt he’s entertaining and he helps pull in the viewers – but in any other (well, nearly any other) line of work, if you assault a colleague, you’re gone, regardless of past achievements. I could be the best salesperson for my employers that has ever lived, but if I punch another member of staff, that’s curtains for my career, and rightly so. What makes Clarkson so special that he should avoid that fate?
Finally, we come to the news that Zayn Malik has left One Direction. Now, to me, this is a story that belongs closer to the bottom of the list, but if you are even vaguely near Twitter or any sites that track this sort of stuff, you will have seen an explosion from fangirls who are behaving like the world has just fallen out from underneath them.
Grow up. I don’t care how close to the band or Zayn you feel, I don’t care if you feel heartbroken, there are far more important things happening in the world. People are dying the world over for so many different, avoidable reasons. We have had the tragic plane crash I referred to earlier. Lives are being seriously affected by serious issues around the world, and you’re acting like a guy leaving a boy band (who won’t be remembered twenty years from now) is the be-all and end-all of existence. It isn’t.
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Surely things like One Direction are a distraction to the terrible important things going on in the world, as motor sports, Star Trek and the rest are? How is a young girl whose favourite band are in turmoil any different to your own frustration at a tv plot, anger at a football team or the like? Based on the fact that you’re an adult and they’re mostly young girls who are at an emotional stage of their lives anyway.
We all live inside an individual bubble, my priorities are different to you, what means the world to me may mean nothing to you. But why would you care about invalidating those feelings of others? Surely that’s similar to people discounting your beliefs, thinking it ridiculous that you play a wii racing game so seriously? You ask others to invite themselves into your life and find interest in things like that, why can’t you do the same? Or at least allow them their interests. Past childhood when we grow out of playground bullying why should any of us care what’s sad or pathetic in others if it makes us happy and doesn’t hurt someone?
One Direction whether you’re a fan or not are the biggest boy band in the world, news like that can’t just be ignored by the worlds media. The trappings of fame and the mental struggles that someone could have in that situation to walk away from are all completely newsworthy, regardless of your idea of their merit. You’re allowed to hate them musically but it sounds like you’re coming at this with blinkered opinions regarding this news. It’s not important news but it is still news.
Fair points, I will grant you (and thank you for the feedback), but I still think there needs to be a line drawn somewhere regarding the attitude that losing a member of a band is somehow comparable to very loss and pain that people face every day. Earlier on today I was reading how some 1D fans have been cutting themselves (and if you believe the more extreme cases, there have been suicides over this).
I never draw a comparison between things like Star Trek/F1 to things like war, crime and tragedy. Nor am I slamming Malik for leaving – I appreciate his reasons.
And of course, this site is MY platform. Whilst I appreciate constructive feedback, I am not going to shirk from voicing my honest opinion. These 1D fans who’ve been cutting over this… sorry, I won’t pretend to understand that, nor pretend to tolerate it.