Professional athletes and entertainers are human beings just like the rest of us. Humans with feelings capable of being hurt and that could be as erratic as the worst of us. We're quick to harshly criticize them for making decisions we don't conform to, feeling so entitled to their lives, that their death becomes one of our greatest surprises.
I used to be a hardcore football fan. Supporting Arsenal FC, and feeling like the players owed me their blood, sweat, and tears on the field. I used to rain insults on whoever made a bad decision on or off the ball. Feeling so entitled to their success, I saw their failure as a betrayal.
I think this stemmed from me playing football video games at a really young age for years before I started watching live matches. I was used to pushing buttons to make players do what I felt was needed to be done to win games. I was in control of all my players on the pitch. Then I started watching live matches but refused to realize that I was no longer in control of anything.
At every missed chance, bad pass, wrong movement on or off the ball, I'd hurl insults at my TV. After the game, I'd argue about how horrible a player was, constantly comparing my team with that of my friends' and doing a whole lot of shaming and name-calling in the process, disregarding the weeks of breathtaking, muscle-numbing, and sweat-soaking training required to put in a good performance.
It was the same with entertainers. I had my favorites, and they could do no wrong in my eyes. I felt so entitled to their good works, I didn't care about who they were when they weren't performing.
Back in the day, most people had no means to insult athletes or entertainers directly. We just did it in our little circles, and that was it. The only people that had the chance to insult them directly were those present at their events or those that ran into them on the street.
Today, with much greater access to athletes and entertainers, people just go all the way. Not caring about any boundaries they could be crossing, they make sure they take out their frustration on someone that literally just had a bad day at work.
This entertainment we pay for comes with a rollercoaster of emotions that gives us the privilege as fans, to judge the performances of entertainers. But these emotions can be expressed without you being an asshole. You don't need to call athletes derogatory names online just because they failed to win. There's really no need to hurl insults at them or call them names just because they made a decision you don't like.
Every bad decision made by our favourites creates an opportunity for someone else to win. And by this, everyone gets the opportunity to win, regardless of the fan base. Would you rather have it that only you and yours win for eternity? Well even if you do, it's not even possible.
You too do some stupid shit at work and get away with it, without a bunch of people calling you names to your face. We all do dumb things in our different ways all the time. But you see someone make a bad decision while doing what you could almost never do on TV, and you see the need to insult them online? Make your judgments and comments in your private space. You don't need to bring it online for the world to see what shitty behavior you're capable of.
You wouldn't be happy if millions of people rained insults at you for attempting to do what you thought they'd love. Let's keep the hate at a minimum. These people don't need you to break their spirit and make them feel any worse than they do physically, on the field/stage/court. What they need is honest empathetic feedback. We enjoy athletes and entertainers the most when they're at their best, so let's help them be at their best by showing more kindness, support, and encouragement.