CONTEST ROUND-UP: the genre-blending contest is officially closed! I will be announcing the winner tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to proudly declare that I won two writing contests myself lately, both resulting in free books for yours truly: Janet Reid's haiku contest, and, as of yesterday, the Redlines & Deadlines worst first line contest (I'm especially proud of that one, for obvious reasons). If I can't make money off my writing yet, at least I can score myself some free reads in the blogosphere!
And now for the real topic of today's post: BAD BEHAVIOR. Is there something in the water? Joe Wilson heckling the President, Serena Williams threatening a lineswoman, and the Kanye West debacle which is so big that I can't even find an actual clip of the incident on YouTube right now, only about a million personal response videos... and to think that a few months ago we thought the Alice Hoffman Twitter incident was bad.
What is going on here? Can any of my readers shed some light on what must have possessed these people?
And, let's talk about anger. When is it okay to express it? How do you apologize afterwards? The main character in my book loses her temper at a client, and again at a stranger on the subway, but I like to think that she's still sympathetic even after these outbursts, because the reader is already well into the book and knows what's going on in her head... is there any excuse for this kind of thing, if only we knew more? Or, are they just jackasses?
Congrats on the contests! I remember the haiku one.
ReplyDeleteI think too many people feel entitled and have no idea how to think outside themselves.
Congrats on the contests!
ReplyDeleteI think they just want the attention that comes with it. You know what they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Look at what's his name politician. He is up for re-election and the donations flooded in after his comment. Kanye West is all over TV and the interwebs now too. People who might not of heard his stuff before (me) now know what he sounds like and might (not me) buy a CD or two or three.
It isn't going to stop either, until people stop getting positive reinforcement for their bad behavior.
The world isn't a vacuum.
I think this culture is all about "look at me!" nowadays. Kayne West is a perfect example. Well, heck, all of them you mentioned are. Joe Wilson knew that he'd be singled out for what he did.
ReplyDeleteRighteous anger is not necessarily a bad thing, but choosing when and where to express it should be carefully considered.
Congratulations on the contest wins. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteRe: public temper tantrums--I fear our culture rewards infantile behavior. There's always been some extreme behavior from athletes-maybe because of the serious stress they're under. And authors have tended to feud with reviewers, if not in such an immediate and public way.
But an elected official dissing the head of state at a formal address? That's a new low. So was Kanye West's insanity. Narcissim gone mad.
Just jackasses - ppl should keep it all inside, silently simmer and then explode at totally random, unrelated times. That's what I do.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I'm excited for you. What were the books that you won?
ReplyDeleteKanye is just a... well, let's say he has way too much money and possibly some of it may have gotten lodged in his brain so that there is now no more room to think like NORMAL HUMAN BEING!
ReplyDeleteSerena, don't know. I usually really like this chick. What is with that? Guess we all have our really REALLY bad days :)
Congrats on winning those comps :)
I too think our culture is lacking common courtesy these days but it is what we see promoted in so many venues.
ReplyDeleteI'm a redhead so I know a lot about losing my temper!:) I have had to ask forgiveness many times for speaking without thinking. Not that what is said is always wrong but there is an appropriate time and place for all things. I can say that as I age, I am getting better!
Anger is a perfectly reasonable response to certain things, it's how you deal with it that defines you as a person.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the wins :)
Congrats on the contests! I know I haven't made much money writing either, but once I won a book, and it was so satisfying!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog! Glad to find you here.
I think most people want to draw attention to themselves too.
I'm not sure it's bad manners as much as people just trying to draw attention to themselves however they can.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your contest wins!