I know 80% of you won't care cause this shit is mostly entertainment and who cares about some bitch.
And I say this not to minimalize Kelly's bullshit but to emphasize how serious of a problem this is:
There is nothing uncommon about these behaviors.I've said this before and I'll keep saying it cause it's true: the only surprise here is that EVERY pro isn't like this. This is exceptionally likely in the world of skateboarding because:
The sport revolves around the following:
- Dropping out of high school at 15
- a bro-centered industry where people do nothing but tell you how great you are
- Being compelled to break the law to be able to perform your job
- rewarding drugs, alcohol, partying with board sales and brand image
- Peaking at age 23 with a life of making 6 figure salaries and traveling the world
- watch as kids half your age become twice as good as you
- the people you thought were lame for going to college and getting a job are now more employable than you(.)
All of that being said: this is not an episode of cancel culture; that's a red herring. It's easy to say it's just cancel culture when you know you'd be culpable too. It relieves you of the burden of introspection.
Society is slowly learning that this shit happens all the time & is not okay. Admittedly that's naive optimism on my behalf. Regardless, nothing will change until the responsibility of these shitty behaviors is pinned on people who perpetrate them ..... and NOT on a survivor's choice of how & when to tell their story. That's the one step forward & two steps back shit that keeps happening here and anywhere else. It's all too easy to shift focus when you can feel your shadow self enter the ring. I digress.
Still you may think this shit is okay, and it will feel like cancel culture. That's understandable. But to quote my witty friend Jules:
This is seemingly always relevant to post.
Anyway I'm rambling and this may not entirely make sense. I get confused at this point cause I've repeated my argument so many times. It's not even a very good one. I'm not a word-smith. I just hope that the fuckers on here can stop and re-consider their fears of accountability.
That's not naive optimism; it's just unrealistic, and unfortunately I know that.