I can’t stand country music. I’m not much of a Taylor Swift fan, but I was so disgusted by Kanye’s actions that I deleted him from my iTunes. I know this won’t affect him much, but I don’t think I want to listen to him anymore. His music right now (even the songs that I liked) are now spoiled because I now think of this incredibly rude moment.
This morning, I read some of the articles on the incident as well as the various thoughts about it on facebook and twitter. At first I was focused on Kanye and then I started thinking about some of the schools.
Sure, they don’t grab the microphone, but I’ve definitely seen a senior class at a high school boo the freshmen class when the freshmen class upsets everyone and wins spirit week.
I’ve been at conventions for various service organizations and seen one school bad mouth another after losing out on a particular community service award.
I’ve heard student candidates for student council or various state positions in student organizations speak poorly about their competition after a loss.
Disappointment affects us all, but we have to find ways to positively support those who succeed or those who win. I thought John McCain provided a brilliant example of this during his concession speech last November. I thought Beyonce provided another great moment last night. Kanye wasn’t even up for an award and he inserted himself into the moment, robbing a 19 year old singer of hers.
Let’s make sure that we find ways to celebrate others in their moments, shining a light on them rather than on ourselves.