Why Guilty Pleasures are Bulls#&%
No matter when you read this, some popular cultural thing is happening soon.
A sporting event, a holiday, a huge concert tour, pumpkin spice latte season — something that excites a lot of people. And that means it also strikes a nerve in the opposite direction for those who don’t “get” that popular thing. Or straight up hate it.
The haters will try to counter the excitement with clever zings and takedowns, which is, of course, our right as thoughtful, witty humans. But there are those who want to knock the popular thing down a peg, and there are those who want to knock down the people who like it.
And look, I love a good zinger. They can be funny. They can be insightful. They can be innocent. But they can also be kinda shitty, particularly when they’re mean spirited or come from people who seem angry they have to hear about something that doesn’t fit their taste.
It doesn’t matter what you love, someone is gonna make fun of you for it. I think that’s rooted in the jealousy of joy.
And to some extent, I get it. For example: I hate cilantro. I don’t want to hate cilantro. It’s in half my favorite foods! And because of that, I’m envious of everyone that loves it. They get to experience a joy that I don’t. But I don’t attack those people for liking cilantro, because that would be objectively stupid.
When someone isn’t getting enough joy out of their life, their knee-jerk reaction can be to bring other people’s happiness down to their level. As if throwing your negativity at someone will somehow reduce it in yourself. It won’t. It’s not a zero sum game. When you make someone else unhappy, you’re still just as unhappy yourself.
The same is true for positivity. When you make someone’s day, it doesn’t mean you have less happiness for yourself. It’s quite the opposite. What you give is what you grow.
So: embrace what brings you joy. Guilty pleasures? Bullshit! Like what you like without a shred of guilt. Love what you love. Most importantly, create the things you want to create. No matter what you do, someone will try to tear you down for it, so why not make the things that make you happy?
Especially when you know that the haters are just jealous of your joy.
Don’t let the bastards grind you down. Joy is a scarce enough resource as it is. Ignore the people who try to take it away from you.
Love your comic books or your fantasy movies. Love that so-called “guilty pleasure” band.
No matter how much they fucking suck.
