Do You Know the Difference Between a “Hater” and Someone With An Opinion?
Instead of putting a sour face on and bailing on her fans, homegirl should have come out, performed like it was her last show, tore up the stage and flipped the middle finger to those at the station who felt the need to throw shade. Make an announcement or throw out a diss to the one person who initially tried to play you, and prove that despite a few pop-py tracks, you ARE still repping for real hip-hop! But no, instead, she left a crowd full of hard-working Barbez who paid to see her standing hot, angry and crazy looking with their colorful wigs on. Even MJ didn’t do that when he could have, and he had a catalog of classics attached to his name since childhood!
These days it seems that when folks say something that others aren’t ready to hear or don’t want to face, the easy thing to do now is to throw your hands in the air, throw in the towel and call them a straight up hater. Or better yet, drop the mic, grab your sidekick SB and go back to the hotel. Instead of trying to counter them with a thoughtful or snarky response, or better yet, ignore them and even prove them wrong, people like to walk around pretending that anyone who doesn’t agree with their way of doing things is only seeking to throw shade. Don’t get me wrong, there are people out there who live to do things like that (just ask folks who can never like or appreciate something an individual does or puts out because they made up their mind that they don’t like that person). But sometimes, it never hurts to listen to what folks have to say so that you can decipher who is really crazy and who really is trying to tell you something real. Some people who comment on Madame Noire could easily be deemed as “haters” sometimes, but there are a great many who inspire new, unique story ideas, make us rethink the way we do and say certain things (anybody noticed we’ve calmed down on “ratchet”??) and helped us change things–well, the things we can control. Either way, nobody’s remarks, good or bad, would make me log off and walk away from doing what I love, and a stinging opinion with some truth in it would just make me want to do better or prove folks wrong.
Outside of entertainment, there are too many people out here tipping the scales and living unhealthy because they want to call everyone a hater when someone says they’re getting too big. Too many individuals going back to s***y men and ignoring the worries of others because they want to prove a point. And don’t forget about the folks who aren’t living up to their full potential and scream, “Whatever, you’re just hating” when someone calls them on it. I can go on. But when are we going to stop ignoring the criticisms and start either learning from them or taking them for what they’re worth and moving on?
While we’d all like to always be right and look like we can do no wrong, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to listen to what folks are saying before we automatically dismiss it as hate. People are going to like what they like, and aren’t going to like what they don’t want to like. And in a country that allows folks like Minaj the free speech to call people “Nappy headed ho*es,” and say she wants to put her imaginary d**k on a hater’s face, she better get used to the criticism, grow a thick skin and do so fast before she alienates those who matter most: her fans.
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