Note: I was angry when I wrote this and uncharacteristically used some stronger language than usual while writing this blog entry. There was an inner debate as to whether or not it might be a good idea to remove some of the swears, but in the end, I decided that the first reaction was the truest, and that this is a subject matter that I feel strongly enough about not to pull any punches. So, apologies if I use some colorful language that normally is avoided, but I felt it was truer to my gut reaction by keeping it. So, if you still want to go ahead and read, please understand that beforehand!
You know, there are some people that, the more I hear about them, the less I want to hear about them, because they reveal more and more of an asshole side with every comment and action.
Such is the case with Gene Simmons, who I was already getting sick and tired of many years ago. I used to be a Kiss fan (not fanatical about it, or anything, but a fan of their music, nevertheless).
But there reached a point where I got so disgusted with the unchecked greed, ego, and general stupidity coming from Gene Simmons, that it got in the way of allowing me to enjoy the music.
At that point, I wished he would just go away.
Instead, he got his own reality show on television. And although I have never actually seen an episode (really can't stomach to see the guy, quite frankly), I saw it advertised, and saw the show intro a time or two, while scrambling for the remote to quickly switch channels or turn off the tube altogether.
Still, even then, he did not disgust me much more than some other egotistical wealth addicts. Okay, so he really, really, really likes money. That does not make him all that different than a bunch of other rich assholes that are obsessed with money, right? And it's not like this guy is as bad as, say, Donald Trump, right? I mean, who could be a bigger, more famous, more egotistical asshole than Donald Trump?
Well, apparently, Gene Simmons is going to at least give Trump a run for his money.
In the wake of the attention that depression is getting after the suicide of Robin Williams, Gene Simmons made a point of weighing in on a subject that he very clearly knows absolutely nothing about: depression and suicide. He reacted in a thoughtless and detached manner, perhaps to convey that he is just too cool to care. Or perhaps too conservative to care.
If he had gone through serious depression personally, or if he ever lost someone he truly cares for as a result of it, maybe he would not open that asshole of a mouth and allow the ridiculous shit to come out in the public eye, the way he seems intent on doing.
You know, not long after Kurt Cobain committed suicide, Andy Rooney went on air and essentially blasted Cobain, essentially calling him a spoiled rock star and making the serious issues surrounding his death into a lighthearted affair of entertainment. He showed us an obituary of a World War II veteran instead, somebody who he deemed worthy of the outpouring of sadness that came after Cobain's death by suicide.
But here's the thing: Andy Rooney apologized, and I believe he was sincere about it. Rooney, whether or not you agree with him, was never shy to voice his opinions, and more often than not, I would agree with quite a few of his points. I certainly did not agree with everything that he had to say, but I could respect the logic he used to reach his conclusion.
In any case, his comments caused quite a bit of controversy. I remember watching that particular episode of 60 Minutes, and feeling angry myself. Hell, I was ready to swear of 60 Minutes, and Andy Rooney, altogether (I didn't). I was a young man (not even 20!), and definitely could relate more to Kurt Cobain, and yes, even a dead from suicide Cobain, than to an old fart like Andy Rooney. So, at least, thought I, at that ripe old age of 19 years old. I remember seeing the comedian, "Bobcat" Goldthwait, on some show afterwards (I think it was Letterman or Leno), and saying that he wanted to slap Rooney for his dumb comments, and I really wished he would. I would have paid to see it at the time (well, maybe - but I certainly would have been in support of it).
Again, though, Rooney apologized. I did not think much of it then. In fact, I might not even have been aware of his apology, so disgusted was I by his comments. But in time, I changed my mind about it. Some years ago, after reading Heavier Than Heaven, I was intrigued enough to watch that original broadcast of Rooney criticizing Cobain again, and of the apology that came after. And I think Rooney recognized that he could not speak, let alone understand, the younger generation. It was a different time, and he had made light of an issue that many people could relate to - probably far more than he imagined. Cobain's suicide is nothing to mock or dismiss. No one's suicide is.
Don't get me wrong, I still think Rooney was wrong to make those comments. But the fact that he admitted he was wrong went a long way towards my changing my opinion about Rooney again over time. When I watched those now old broadcasts of Rooney on Kurt Cobain on Youtube, I was not the same 19 year old male, filled with a strange and intense energy, with anger admittedly never being far away. When I watched it again, now as a 39-year old man, and a father, my perspective was very different. Again, Rooney was wrong to say what he said on that broadcast, but it was a mistake. No more, no less. When he understood better what he had mindlessly criticized, he offered his apology, and explained his change of mind. As a grown man, I could accept that as sincere.
With Gene Simmons, regarding his recent comments in the wake of Williams' suicide, I admittedly cannot accept what he says at all, nor will I trust any apology he issues (not that I think he will actually offer anything of the sort).
Why? Because again, Rooney, whether you agreed with him or not, was genuine. He had a thought process, and that requires actual thought. Again, you did not have to agree with him, but he was capable of advancing an argument and articulating his viewpoint so that you could at least understand where he was coming from.
In the case of Gene Simmons, there is no actual thought. He offers his opinion like a reflex. In his black and white, cookie cutter existence, everyone should be like him. Should share the same values and interests (money). Everyone should look up to the most successful among us, and the most successful should never, ever show any weaknesses. When Robin Williams actually proved not just to be a highly successful actor, comedian, and personality, but actually a human being with vulnerabilities, that was unacceptable and unforgivable.
What makes it more despicable is that I get the distinct suspicion that at least in part, he was hoping to generate publicity from these comments, all in order to make sure people always remember his name, that he is always going to find his name in headlines. I could be wrong, but frankly, I doubt that this is much of a stretch. Publicity, and ways of increasing it, are never far from the mediocre mind of Gene Simmons. Because as we all know by now, Gene Simmons loves money. And as Randy Newman once sang, it's money that matters in the USA.
Now, admittedly, I never really understood the obsession with money, which unfortunately, here in the United States, has reached epic, and I would suggest dangerous, levels now. And I never understood how anyone who is financially successful is somehow seen as "smart" or "intelligent" in general, and that this success automatically lends them authority in other fields. Nor did I understand how those powerful and wealthy themselves feel that, somehow, because they have a fatter wallet and bank account than you or me, their opinions somehow matter more, even on subjects that they know absolutely nothing about.
Like it or not, having money and fame generally offers people a very public platform. And while some people do handle this admirably, other leave something to be desired. Still others use it in an outright despicable manner. A few examples come to mind. Donald Trump, for one. The trashy Kardashians, for another. Ted Nugent. And Gene Simmons, who said some things recently that I find absolutely distasteful and, frankly, unforgivable.
Gene Simmons is certainly not the first person to spout off - and loudly, with a lot of publicity - about a subject that he is not qualified to speak of. But he is talking about very important matters here, and he is doing so with the detached mindlessness of an egotistical rock star, weighing on literally matters of life and death here, and casting his all-important judgments in the process.
He mentions that his mother survived the Holocaust, and how despite this, she maintains a positive attitude about life. That may be, but not everyone is the same. And Gene Simmons himself did not survive the Holocaust. Gene Simmons made it huge by wearing make up, sticking his tongue out in a sexually suggestive manner, and playing a musical instrument in front of audiences, and he has been doing that same act for decades now. Time has passed him by, and while the music of Kiss may live on, with kids feeling that they can relate to that music, I doubt that many kids that would potentially be fans of Kiss can relate Gene Simmons dinosaur way of thinking.
Nor do I think that I'm the only former fan of Kiss that is so disgusted by Simmons's antics that I essentially stopped being a fan.
Simmons mentions a 20 year old kind from Seattle that victimizes himself and claims that he wants to commit suicide. It's kind of funny in a way, that he picked Seattle, of all places. First of all, Seattle has the highest suicide rate of any city in the United States, yet he's talking about such cases as fakers who will not actually go through with it. Look at the statistics, and you will notice that plenty of people actually have gone through with it. The fact that Simmons was on the subject just days after the high profile suicide of one of the world's best know, and best loved, actors should have tipped him off that he was off subject. Secondly, twenty years ago, there was a 27-year old man from Seattle who also committed suicide, in another high profile case. That man, as a kid, had been a huge Kiss fan, something that, I'm willing to bet, Gene Simmons conveniently forgot.
Here's a little bit about what Gene Simmons had to say about people who, he feels, always view themselves as the victims, and threaten that they are going to commit suicide:
"I never understand, because I always call them on their bluff. I'm the guy who says 'Jump!' when there's a guy on top of a building who says, 'That's it, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to jump.'
Who would be such a moron would admit (and with a seeming measure of pride, it seems) to being one of those lowly people who yells "Jump!" to someone standing on a ledge?
Gene Simmons, that's who.
Careless about just how large a public profile he has, and how his words might actually potentially reach people with real depression issues, Simmons goes on and on about this issue, offering his quick, easy, and mindless diagnosis for a complex issue.
His solution if you are feeling depressed?
Go ahead and kill yourself.
Nice, Gene. Stay classy.
Fortunately, someone did notice the idiocy displayed by Gene Simmons, and offered a strong rebuke of pretty much everything that he had to say. None other than Nikki Sixx, a pretty famous and successful rock star in his own right!
Nicki Sixx pulls no punches here:
"It's pretty moronic [of Gene to say what he said], because he thinks everybody listens to him, that he is the god of thunder and he will tell you he is the greatest man on earth. And, to be honest with you, I like Gene. But in this situation, I don't like Gene. I don't like Gene's words, because … there is a 20-year-old kid out there who is a KISS fan and reads this and goes, 'You know what? He's right. I should just kill myself.'
Then, Sixx mentions something that very nearly put tears in my eyes, and a lump in my throat:
"If I had killed myself, my four beautiful children would not be here today."
As a father myself of a beautiful boy that means the world to me, and having gone through some depression issues myself (although thankfully, none of the heroine or substance abuse issues that Sixx or many other went through), that particularly spoke to me.
"I got off the drugs and alcohol and it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I didn't think I could ever be off the heroin, to be honest with you. I got off the heroin and I couldn't leave my house. I didn't have any social skills, I didn't know how to interact with people. I pretty much started to go deeper and deeper and deeper into a depression. So I went to a therapist. And it was the first time I had ever been to a therapist. And I said, 'I just feel hopeless.' Now, if I went to see Gene Simmons, he would have said, 'Well, you know, Nikki, if you're depressed, you should just kill yourself.' But this therapist said, 'Hey, there are ways out.' And he gave me an experimental drug at the time called Prozac, and it got me on the right path. And then I got off of it. And I got out of my depression. And I then went to have these four beautiful children, I wrote the 'Dr. Feelgood' album, I've had a wonderful life. I did not take that way out.
"And what I'm saying is: for people who are depressed, there is a way out. There are many, many ways out. And I don't want people to listen to an interview from a rock star who's telling you the only way out is out, when I'm telling you, and I wrote it in [my book] 'The Heroin Diaries', you can get out of this…
"One in 10 Americans are affected by depression at one point in their life, so this is another thing to think about. At one point in your life, meaning it will come and it will go…
About the only thing that I do not agree with Nikki Sixx on is when he says he likes Gene Simmons.
Frankly, I have gotten to see more of Gene Simmons than I care to. And there's not much there to like, frankly.
"They say all bad things must pass, all bad things will pass. So keep that in the back of your mind if you're feeling depression, and don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about."
Now, surely, Gene Simmons is not going to be happy when he hears about what Nikki Sixx says. Especially that last part, about not listening to people who don't know what they are talking about. After all, if people only got an audience that they deserved when they spoke about things that they knew about, Gene Simmons would have no audience. Clearly, the more that he opens his mouth, that Gene Simmons qualifies as just such a person on a wide range of things. The man demands an audience, because indeed, he thinks of himself as something far more than he actually is. Like Nikki Sixx says, Simmons seems to think of himself as the god of thunder, and that when he speaks, people should listen.
But fuck that! In a more perfect world, people would dismiss Simmons automatically for being what he really is: an insensitive jackass of a man that never tires of showing the staggering degree of his own idiocy and narcissism. A shameless publicity seeker who does not deserve any air time at all, let alone the prominent air time he generally receives. As a television personality these days, he is the perfect embodiment of why it is a good idea to shut your TV off once in a while, in order to preserve what's left of your mind!
Shame on you, Gene Simmons!
Also, just because you have the right to say stupid and insensitive shit, and to be an asshole more generally, it does not mean that you have to systematically exercise that right! Maybe you should shut the fuck up every once in a while!
Shame.
All quotes used in the writing of this blog entry were taken from the following article:
NIKKI SIXX Responds To GENE SIMMONS' 'Moronic' Comments About People Suffering From Depression
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/nikki-sixx-responds-to-gene-simmons-moronic-comments-about-people-suffering-from-depression/
No comments:
Post a Comment