The Twilight of the idols.
During the middle of a spin class, I had an epiphany — the recent controversy surrounding Travis Scott’s concert had left me imagining myself as one of the 9 souls that were lost and stampeded to death. A member of the crowd slowly perishing while everyone else were having the time of their lives, rocking their hearts out to Sicko Mode, drowning out the sounds and cries for help.
The event went viral quickly, unsurprisingly, and had drawn many conspiracists to criticise the concert decor for being satanic. Criticism towards Travis Scott’s etiquette, or lack thereof, and the behaviour of many of the concert goers for neglecting social responsibility for a good time and even follow up of billion dollar lawsuits towards Scott and his party; however, this show drew me the attention of another alarming detail–it represented society. I will use this as an allegory to explain my stance.
In this digital age, majority including myself are armed with a phone and internet. This accessibility has given a voice to every single person in an almost democratic-esque. Apart from my gripe about democracy, I have a bigger issue: giving every person a voice has allowed the world to become a large contested echo chamber.
Controversial affairs have people voicing concerns and what-nots, every person now has an opinion and in their minds, they exist as a ‘leader’ of moral high grounds. Many commented on affairs like the US pull out of Afghanistan or China’s Uyghur humanitarian crisis without appropriating actual care for it furthermore, many believed and only read into the narrative fed that media without fact checking, myself included as with the recent case of Rittenhouse.
This has resulted in the idolisation of the Internet. Utilisation of a platform not just to share their views but to also execute justice (or what they deem as justice) by the countless varying moral standards of the internet. Unfortunately, after a few quick weeks, many of these social justice activists quickly fade out, emptying the previously bustling virtual halls filled with the moralists, leaving the ones who need help 6 feet under. We choose to hear which sounds of help.
The concert can be interpreted as such; every member of the crowd represents society, the 9 souls that were lost were the people devastated by injustices (e.g women in Afghanistan) while the stage and Travis Scott represent the Internet and hero archetypes that are easy for people to idolise and be swayed over. The people who tried to draw attention and cut the show are the same people that are quickly silenced by the desirables of society and left to either hang behind or follow on the coattails of society.
As social issues arise, the crowds make the loudest noise, easily confronting the ‘obvious’ evil. But these commentaries drown out the very voices that need justice and eventually die out like a candlelight. At the forefront of these issues are celebrities. At the height of problems, the whole world seems to be judges with great moral instinct, voicing serious opinions. Alas, when the wave has passed, and after they have leveraged on the situation by making themselves look more empathetic in the eyes of the public, they remain just as they were — unfazed, unaffected, undisturbed. In the mirror, Justice is good looking.
The world we live in is changing rapidly, the injection and acceptance of minority groups have changed the cultures and is starting to shape a unique confused society without the appropriate moral compasses. Groups like the Atheist or LGBTQ+ coming in and are gradually being accepted in civil society, however, alongside it comes a new influx of alternative values that have consistently confused the masses of what is socially acceptable. Values such as loyalty or compassion are now interpreted differently, they have a twist. Companies used to value loyalty but now loyalty can be bought over easily.
To conclude, with many pillars of our societal values quickly shifting, it has become difficult for us to lean on something and is why many of us may find situations like accepting LGBTQ difficult; many of these new customs are not in grown, sure it is simple to dismiss the argument and say that we should accept whoever, but in this sense, some people are literally built and grown different and that is why tolerance is also necessary.
