One of the great things about traveling is that you’re constantly reminded that people are horrible everywhere you go.
Oh sure, it feels like people are more polite in the South and more crazy in Florida and more rude in New York but the truth is that we live in an awful society filled with rotten people and we are truly decaying as humankind.
Case in point? The Adele show this weekend in Los Angeles which my girlfriend, Christina, and I, went to. Not only was everyone ugly (in Southern California! WTF?) but people were so phenomenally stupid, rude, and any other adjective that describes the abject dumpster fire that our culture has become.
We could waste time on the barely-12-year-old girl who was with two of her friends and an adult female chaperone. My girlfriend is not convinced she was even 12, but she certainly dressed as though she would be dancing at the Spearmint Rhino come midnight. How lovely. “Adele’s in town, sweetie,” says the mom, “Of course you can dress like a total slut before you even get your period.”
I could bitch that even though the show was easily one of the 5 best I’ve ever seen (and I’m fortunate enough to have seen hundreds thanks to my career choice) it’s still absurd and unacceptable that Adele took the stage 45 minutes late. (and never apologized or acknowledged it…she was charming, funny sweet and sounded amazing but that shit still pisses me off).
But instead I want to focus on what a colossal waste collectively we are as a people.
Look, I get it…we live in 2016 and technology is a major part of our lives, regardless of your age. I’m dating a millennial with an Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook account. I know how the world works. Additionally, I understand people wanting to capture “moments,” using their devices. Christina and I took a few selfies during the show and she recorded a half dozen moments of 20 seconds or less.
Here’s what I don’t get…and I suppose this is my fault for observing people…I should just stare at my girlfriend like some sort of creep and stop paying attention to my surroundings.
Who in the actual hell pays hundreds (minimum) of dollars to attend an Adele show and then spends the entire show watching the concert through their stupid cell phone while recording the entire thing? The answer, apparently, is thousands of morons since the lights from their phones were inescapable and I had a woman in her 60’s sitting right next to me who did exactly that the entire show.
In the end, people can do whatever they want to do as long as they’re not hurting me or others but as an observer of society I wonder how we got to the point that people insist on watching a live performance by one of the biggest stars on earth through their dopey phones. I find it sad, pathetic and pitiable and I am SO glad that I can’t relate to it.
Christ, even the under-12-year-old dressed like a whore actually watched most of the show. I’m starting to lose track of who I need to tell to grow up these days.