When footage of 20-year-old pop star Justin Bieber’s deposition was leaked online, the public showed disgust with his behavior during the proceedings as he completely ignored the interviewer, made idiotic jokes, winked at the camera, and generally proved himself the picture of arrogance. Bieber’s history has led many to believe that he’s the poster boy for juvenile delinquency. He was arrested not long ago for drag racing and a DUI at the same time, Bieber has begun to gain quite the rap sheet. These actions were criticized by the media and Facebooksphere, with his misadventures becoming a trending topic nationwide within hours of the news of his arrest breaking.
These actions have rightfully been used as a justification for people to call Bieber a douche or worse, but in truth, his buffoonery and irresponsibility are really just the norm for a kid his age. He simply has more money and gets more attention than most everyone else, which probably explains so much of the resentment directed toward him. He does pretty much the same things as all the kids I know. As comedian Chris Hardwick points out, “Justin Bieber is just like any other 19-year-old, except instead of drag racing in an ’88 Corolla, he’s in a Lamborghini, and instead of meeting up with the girl from the McDonald’s down the street after, he’ll meet up with a super model after he races.”
Some may say that Bieber’s actions are amplified because he thinks he can get away with anything. His major problem comes from the fact that he has no one close enough to call him out on his behavior. Does this make for a stuck-up kid who does whatever he wants regardless of how it affects other people? The simple answer is yes, but here’s the problem — the American public expects a role model version of Bieber that doesn’t exist. He probably can’t be persuaded to conform to a set behavioral standard at this point, but somehow the public expects this to magically occur overnight. The expectation for special and famous people to be appropriate role models for our children isn’t very practical, in many cases. Justin Bieber is a dumb kid with a lot of money. For society to expect him to be anything else is ridiculous.
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Sam Schoenecker is a writer from the Colorado Springs area.
