An Ounce of Pretention...

...is worth a pound of manure...

one of my favorite quotes from Steel Magnolias. and a thought that crosses my mind often lately.

Warning: this is a rant.

here are my thoughts. i know that there are people out there who prefer to avoid all things mainstream. bands, movies, television, pop culture. i think in some cases it's a genuine lack of interest. genuine aloofness. i think in a lot of cases, it's a desire to be different and fight idea of being herded into whatever "they" want us to watch, listen to, or wear. i totally respect that. it's the beauty of freedom. my issue is when people who choose not to participate in the fabulously ridiculous culture we live in, ridicule those who do.

there are those of us who choose to listen to pop radio. some of us watch American Idol and The Bachelor. i know people who are slightly obsessed with the goings-on of (ahem) Lindsay Lohan. i even have one friend who is deliciously in love with New Kids On The Block AND occasionally listens to Britney Spears. ;)

all of these people, including myself, are upstanding members of society. we pay our taxes, donate to charity, read the news, educate ourselves on real issues. we all vote. some of us even recycle. i stopped buying bottled water because of all the waste. i send money to haiti and ethiopia. i have traveled, read books, met people, and seen many things.

it frustrates me that some people assume that because you enjoy the silliness that you are ignorant of what's REALLY going on out there in the world. maybe the fact that we DO know what's going on out there drives us to need an escape. i know that yes, there are people who are ignorant. there are people who can't tell you the capital of Alabama, but can recap the plot of General Hospital for the last 14 years. i get that it's not how we all live.

i truly believe in "to each their own"...and let me go ahead and admit that OF COURSE i have teased people about hobbies. Warcraft, for example. i have many friends who play it, and even those people can laugh about it. i can laugh at myself for spending 3 hours watching something that is total crap. we poke fun when someone REALLY loves a Ke$ha song. including myself. there is a difference between teasing among friends and the ACTUAL belief that you are better than someone else because you only listen to bands that no one else has ever heard of.

please know that i am not talking about joking. i'm talking about real "holier than thou" attitude that i have been seeing lately. maybe i'm defensive. we all do things differently. it would be nice to remember that THAT IS THE FREAKING POINT OF LIVING HERE.

so, tweet on, Perez. i'm listening to what you got to say. you, too, Anderson Cooper. there's room in my brain for the both of you.