….muthafu^*az want dead!
Categories: Uncategorized
By teej
“I try to bring you ‘life’ but muthafuckas want ‘dead’” - Jay Z “Young G’s”
That lyric lends it’s self to a theory that I have. The theory is basically about how people tend to respond to bad more so than good. Like they are more fascinated with bad than good or something.
Ever found yourself the willing recipient of some juicy gossip? Hearing “I heard Willie’s wife came home early and found him in bed with her sister!” is alot more entertaining than hearing “I hear Willie surprised his wife with a trip to St. Croix!”. Now ask yourself, if you were the gossip passer on-er type….which of the two would you be most anxious to share with someone else?
Ever heard the phrase “If it bleeds it leads“? Yes? No? Maybe so? Well in the event you havent, that phrase is an age old adage of broadcast news. Every notice when you watch your nightly news that the first story is ALWAYS of a double homicide? The heart warming story about the 96 yr old lady who still gets up every day and walks a mile and a half to volunteer at the local soup kitchen usually gets buried somewhere between the next to last commerical break and sports.
Chris Rock once made a joke of how people in the hood get more respect when they get out of jail then when they graduate college. Sad, but true, right? And you cant tell me that this “autotune” craze in urban music isnt just fucking awful, but I’ll be damned if it aint winning right now!
Playing devil’s advocate though : it might could be that maybe deep down we feel as though good stuff is SUPPOSED to happen. We all are supposed to do good so when someone does bad it’s more of a shock and fascinating to us?
And Im not unaware of the fact that there are some “good’s” that totally trump “bad’s”. For instance you have God Vs. the Devil, good guys vs. bad guys in wrestling, usually the good guy wins over the bad guy on TV and in movies, and hey Barack did beat Ol’ Short Arms, right?
I dunno….just a theory swishing around in this big ol think tank of mine.
What do you think?
Are people naturally fascinated/drawn to bad over good?
Inspiration : Being a student of life, the utter disbelief that people are really flocking to the “autotune” sound like they are, that Jay Z lyric, and the belief that at the end of the day good WILL prevail over bad.
December 5th, 2008 at 3:07 am
shereaseoguin@gmail.com
December 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Are people naturally fascinated/drawn to bad over good?
Reporting on the “entertainment” industry, I grappled with this when I first started my blog. I tried to report the good. The good didn’t get hits. When I started repeating what I heard in the wind etc Oh boy did the hits come…. I think with gossip sometimes it makes you feel better esp if you’re situation is f’ked up
I think deep down its hard for some to project POSITIVE feelings, its not hard to be negative ….. Ive recently been around people who only think positive… u ask how that interview went, they say “they’ll be calling anyday” and a lot of times it happens…. its mind over matter but where do we start to stop the negative??????
December 7th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Okay, Let me spread some positivity around here… You gotta look at the individual and the person that they are, First and foremost? Recently there was a comment posted on my latest blog “Are We Desperate” and in the comment it said something like Women are secretly jealous and envious over their girls either getting/being Married or having a monogamous relationships, in others words “hating.”
My questions is Why would you hate or feel envious of someone because of the positive things that happens in there life, same thing with being employed, we all know about this because he happens to everyone all day everyday, all year round on the job. On the F%$k Rant Brandy said F^%K those who are at work and don’t do Work.
Those same people who don’t do the work, always seem to get promoted, get a raise, or even worst, when you out there side hustling looking for another job at another company that’s gonna pay better, these fools who don’t do Sh@t always find that job that you looking for.
For the negativity it goes back to the old saying misery loves company. When you are gossiping, about anything, sometimes it’s usually because “Your” life or situation is just as bad and to make you feel like “The Big” person you indulge and spread the word, feeling like “Hey they are no better than me.”
Okay we all know we are not perfect, but instead of soaking in misery, how about uplifting. If someone losers their job, tell them, “Put faith in the Lord and everything will work out.” If someone’s relationship is not working out, “Tell them to talk it over, talk it through and if need be do what you need to do to make “Yourself’ happy.
As people, and especially Black People we really need to start encouraging one another and uplifting each other, and stop wanting to here the bad news, but sometimes you can’t help those people who feeds and live off bad news and negativity, with those kinda people around, even if it’s Family members, friends, co-workers, or those that go to where you worship, you need to DISTANT YOURSELF! and not become part of them, but be part of the movement!
THE ENCOURAGING, UPLIFTING POWER MOVEMENT!
December 8th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I wouldn’t say people’s fixation with the negative is natural, but we surely have been conditioned that way. Most of the world is not in agreement that people are good and that good things happen. We have created such an environment of chaos, hate, and evil that it seems normal. I agree that for many people gossiping (defined as any conversation about another person that leaves them diminished in the eyes of another) is all about trying to make yourself feel better is a sick sort of way.
I try my best to share the work I do with the people I love (I’m talking Landmark here) because it is actively about re-programming us (human beings) to focus on the positive and being uplifting and supportive. What I find however is that many people, especially my brothas and sistas dismiss it as “weird” or as you like to say “drinking the kool-aid.”
The way I see it, and considering what you just wrote my friend, the world needs transformation b/c the way things have been going, we will continue to put all the energy into the negative. I love hearing stories about triumph over adversity and don’t watch the news that much b/c its so dead.
I don’t listen to most popular music for the same reason. Part of my recent bout with depression and frustration is wondering what it is going to take to get through to “my people” so that our community can start to live in possibility instead of “life is hard, and I can’t do it.”
I’m not giving up because I love you all too much to ever do that, but damn you’re trying a sista’s nerves!
December 8th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I learned years ago that misery loves company. So many people are so unhappy and insecure with themselves that anything that even slightly resembles bad news is like music to their ears. If you’re not happy with whatever place you are in your own life, you can never be happy when you hear good news about your friend. A job promotion, good man, nice gesture, losing 5 lbs-anything that’s positive will cause an unhappy person to look for the negative in that situation. We are so conditioned to look at what other folks have and try to get more, make more weigh less, etc. that so many times we don’t even realize that comparing is never healthy. A person who may not be 100% with their lot in life but they’re content and at peace with who they are will be happy for you when they’re broke and you have money, when they’re single and and you have a good man/woman, when they live in an apartment and you move into a nice home. They’ll realize that nothing stays the same forever and that just because you may be down today, you may be up tomorrow. You have to be careful and keep that faith; your heavenly Father could have a lottery ticket to fall at your feet (literally) and change your financial state from struggling to a billionaire with as much time as it takes for you to bend over and pick it up.