Tabloids Are Stupid
FYI: Some tabloid has a cover story about Clay Aiken being "fat" and "popping pills." He already told us about taking prescribed medication for a medical reason, so big dilly deal. But FAT? Please. We aren't stupid.
Besides, just last week they were calling him "skinny, gawky, elfish, and pixielike."
Well, here's the real deal. Clay Aiken is not fat...he's HOT. Read it and weep you silly tabloid rag.
Just who do they think we are anyway? Idiots? I think not. Why on earth would someone spend their hard earned money on something that insults their intelligence? Not this Claymate.
Photoshop created by Clay Fan Fountaindawg ©2007
touchstone (n) a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated
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©touchstone 2007
5 comments:
You've hit upon one of my major pet peeves about the "fandom" and Clay- we all know that these rags are full of crap, and yet we continue to give them time and attention that they don't deserve. It goes beyond not purchasing the garbage- there are people within the fandom who search this stuff out, and then bring it around to the boards for all of the fans to see and read, and then wring their hands and complain about. Why not refuse to seek this stuff out in the first place? Is it really important to find every obscure mention of Clay in print? Is it necessary to bring every mention by every moronic dj, asshat late night comic and random blogger to the attention of all of the boards? We all know the tabloids are full of sh*t, so why acknowledge them at all? I know that this point of view would probably be shot down on the majority of the boards for one reason or another, but I can't be the only person who feels this way, can I? It makes me want to stop reading the boards when I am constantly bombarded by this crap. I can honestly say that if I never read the boards, I would never have heard of most of this stuff in the course of my daily life. "We" help to spread the garbage by constantly referencing it. It makes me sad to think that the fans play a part in doing something that is hurtful to Clay. in any way. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.
I can agree in some ways. But on the other hand, why should we ignore blatant lies? Why should we put our heads in the sand or our fingers in our ears and say "lalalalala I can't hear you!"
The fact is that there are many, many people who believe everything they read, yes, even in the tabloids.
The problem is that if this type of blatant misinformation goes unchallenged, it does begin to seep into the psyche of the American public.
It's a sad commentary, really, but as long as the "pile on" culture exists in the media I will continue to speak out against it, when it involves Clay or ANYONE.
I have resolved to "USE MY VOICE" to debunk it, hopefully with laughter, as the blog before this one says!
I like this blog by the way, but you should blog more if you want people to become regular readers.
Besides, just last week they were calling him "skinny, gawky, elfish, and pixielike."
Exactly! It is funny, when you look at it the right way.
Unfortunately, I can't reply to the other commenter; I do think it's a "necessary evil" for fans to be aware of this stuff. I do have people that come to me sometimes, knowing I'm a fan, and ask about these articles, either because they like Clay and want the actual facts, or because they don't and want to give me grief. So it's better not to be caught off guard.
Love your blog, by the way. Keep up the good work! :-)
Thanks for the comments.
laljeterfan, I totally understand your feelings on this. I will say that I have been aware of the media shenanigans since the very beginning. I never spoke out about it, except to commiserate with friends.
But it's now been four years since we met Clay. Nothing has changed; in fact, it's gotten worse.
Frankly, I am not one who believes in "clayverting" every Joe Blow out there. If someone doesn't care for Clay or his music, I really don't care. But the fact is that he has become the media's "whipping boy" because AI/RCA/19/SAM whomever has failed to do their job.
Clay's own public stance of not letting himself be defined, or labeled or put in a box has not helped him either, as noble a cause as his individuality may be.
In fact, that's one of the things I love about him; that he is SO UNIQUE. I hope he never changes in that regard.
However, by failing to label himself, the media has taken it upon themselves to apply their own labels. And they are not pretty, for the most part.
It's really a slippery slope. If you bring TOO much notoriety to the negative aspects of Clay in the media, it gives a validation that is not warranted. But if we totally ignore it all, it makes us appear to be ignorant of reality.
So, my take is to make fun of it all. Which is easy for me, because it really has gotten to the point of ridiculousness when you think about it.
There was one article (a NC publication too) that actually blamed the fall of western civilization on one Mr. Clay Aiken.
Sure, it was written in sarcasm, but I'll bet there were many simple-minded individuals who read that article and nodded in agreement, just because it seems like the "thing to do."
Besides, if we expose the parts WE choose to expose, then laugh at them to reveal their ignorance, I feel it will remove some of the sting and the stigma.
Clay has a good sense of humor. He's sarcastic, and admits to sometimes being rude. We are all only human after all, including myself.
And VanessaRobin, believe me, I would LOVE to have the time to blog more often. But, unlike what the media may think, I do NOT devote my entire life to Clay, and can only blog sporadically!
But I do expect things to pick up a little, very soon.
Thanks for the comments!
Interesting viewpoints from all of you and there are certainly aspects of your responses that I totally agree with. I'm not usually one for "conspiracy theories", but I know that there are "haters" out there who scour all of the Clay fan boards for information- and sometimes we make it even easier for them by providing them with all of the ammunition that they need. Sadly, I don't know that they will ever willingly go away, but why do their dirty work for them by looking for and then sharing any negative tidbit we find? Maybe if they had to do all of the work themselves, some of them would fall by the wayside? (Yeah, I know, wishful thinking on my part!) Maybe Clay's stance is changing as well, and that is why we saw him during the Christmas concerts start to use humor to deflate some of the stupidity? The problem, as I see it, is that the tabloids don't care whether what they write is true, but they are happy when they can get a rise out of someone- preferably out of many. And often, Clay's fans are very public about their indignation, which plays right into the tabs' hands. They know we're looking and listening, which is exactly what they want.
Thank you, touchstone, for giving me a place to vent. I don't have the answers, I just know that I am frustrated and saddened by the pathetic state of "journalism" in our country and the need of far too many people to hurt others to make themselves feel important. I enjoy your blog very much and look forward to more from you in the future!
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