What are we feeding the Trolls? Why the Internet turned on FKA Twigs
FKA Twigs received some pretty nasty-ass racist abuse on Twitter the other week by some perplexed K-Stew fans who couldn’t understand how Rob Pattinson could find the singer attractive.
‘You’re a monkey abortion,’ one person tweeted. Charming.
‘Is it really impossible to believe that Rob went out with this monkey,’ commented another apparent Twilight fan – who evidently struggles with life beyond Stephanie Meyers books and Perez Hilton.
It always amuses me that people have enough time in their day to send hateful Tweets to people they don’t know, especially celebrities. And even more perplexing to me is why they think anyone would be interested in what they have to say.
I began to think about trolls when the FKA story broke out. Sitting with my latte, looking out the window during my lunch break – I couldn’t help but wonder which of the passersby were secretly living out this double life on the internet.
Who are these people? Where do they come from? Who’s guarding the bridge while they busy themselves verbally assaulting award-winning music artists?
Here are some of of my further musings on the subject of trolls, racism and Celebrity Worship Syndrome:
1. Celebrity fans: Where do we draw the line between admiration to obsessive?
There is nothing wrong in admiring a famous person. We’ve all done it.
But we are increasingly becoming a culture that seems to WORSHIP the celebrity figures: emulating their behaviour to stay on trend, developing emotional attachments and obsessing over them like they are GODS, some to the point of delirium. Not healthy. Not cool. Kinda freaky.
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Newsflash: celebrities are just human beings. Flawed just like you and me. But so many (especially young people) seem to forget that what you see in the public eye has been filtered by an army of publicists, agents, marketing people, brands, media company execs and the press.
While fans can offer support and encouragement to their favourite stars (which is lovely btw), others actually feel it is their right and duty to involve themselves in the inner workings of their lives. Cue the trolls.
Why do people resort to Celebrity Worship Syndrome?
‘One theory is that in a society dominated by TV and with a decline in extended families and communities, celebrities have taken the place of relatives, neighbours and friends for many people,’
James Chapman, Daily Mail
So back to that line. In 2009 a friend asked me if I wanted to go to downtown New York, to a spot where Robert Pattinson had been ambushed by fans, to see whether we might find a shred of his shirt in the gutter. As appealing as that sounded, I told her I needed to go home and dust the skirting board of my hostel room. For me that was pretty much line crossed.
2. Beauty and the race card: Where are we going wrong?
We all know racism exists today. But even post- Miss America 2014, the Twigs story still shocked me.
Maybe I’m naive, but I really thought the Twilight generation got the whole metaphor about werewolves and vampires being friends in the end? I.e. I thought they were a forward-thinking bunch. I thought they’d come from an upbringing of teen romance and mixed-race couples. THE STORY IS ABOUT A HUMAN AND VAMPIRE FOR GAWDSAKE!
I mean, it might be difficult for the Belgian press or Brazilian football fans to fathom, but the Twilight crowd? Really? I thought we were getting somewhere in terms of progression with at least the younger generations. Apparently not. (Just a quick note: I am not suggesting that ALL Twilight fans are crazy – just the fanatical racist ones.)
In any context, pulling the race card is cheap because it really is the thing you say when you have NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. It’s the abuse used by uncreative assholes.
What does it say about trolls who use this tactic online?
Twigs’ abuse reminds us that although we have come on leaps and bounds in some respects, we still have such a long way to go when it comes to celebrating diversity.
What part has our culture made these kids feel so insecure about their own beauty to channel this online? What deep rooted nerve got twanged when they realised that beauty standards existed beyond Brandy and Melville? Why are the trolls threatened by this talented, gorgeous mixed race girl?
3. It makes me wonder about celebrity culture, our hunger for gossip and other people’s business.
When is too much? Celebrity gossip is a lucrative business that feeds our unsatiable hunger to form opinions about people we really know nothing about. I know for some – it’s a bit of light escape but for hard core users – they orbit around it.
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Why? Maybe because it gives us something to talk about. AKA it gives us importance, social currency if you will. But you know what, I’ll go with Eleanor Roosevelt on this one:
‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’
Eleanor Roosevelt
4. They say: you become what you eat. Maybe we should think about what these trolls have been eating.
This hybrid mutant breed of troll born out of internet, too many Starbucks and saturated celebrity culture is scary, especially as they have the uncensored platform of cyber world to give them importance.
Why do I care? I guess I care because when they are not picking on celebrities they are loose in society free to pick on their peers and every day people like you, me and Rob Pattinson who are just trying to live our lives in peace.
Whether they are on their computer, in the workplace or under a bridge, maybe these trolls need a healthier diet.
Have a great week peeps!
If you enjoyed this article, why not check out ‘Jenny Jones – You Bad Ass!’?
Tags: celebrity FKA Twigs Joy racism Rob Pattinson trolls
Categories: Fire me up baby! Rant Yazmin Joy