Your Boos Mean Nothing…

I heard a phenomenal quote the other day and it comes from none other than the animated TV show, Rick and Morty. 

It goes like this. 

"Your boos mean nothing, because I've seen what makes you cheer."

This is a good reminder that when receiving feedback and even criticism, it’s often helpful to look at what the other person values, what they care about, and what makes them cheer. 

By now, I’m sure you’ve all seen the video of the couple at the Coldplay concert, caught on camera embracing, then hiding their faces as they were both cheating on their partners. 

There’s a lot going on in the world, so I get why this was interesting to people. It was a break from some very serious and scary issues. And I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that I laughed at some of the myriad memes created as a result. 

But when I saw people genuinely celebrating the complete destruction of these peoples’ relationships, for some because he’s a billionaire, for others, because they didn’t find her attractive and couldn’t believe he’d risk it all for someone they deemed “not hot enough,” I just found the entire thing icky. 

Last year, a healthcare CEO was shot in the back on an NYC street. He had a family and someone murdered him in cold blood. That someone just happens to be very attractive and since most everyone has experienced extreme frustration with healthcare companies, people have rallied around the shooter. Not the widow and the CEO’s kids. The shooter. 

Currently, some people are boycotting the new Superman movie, calling it “superwoke” with one well-known TV host lying about Superman having MS-13 on his cape (my friend Rick Hess wrote a great piece about this.) 

The list goes on and on of people who revel in and celebrate things that I, personally, find annoying, in poor taste, or downright sinister. Your list will be different than mine. That’s okay. It should be. 

If and when those people begin booing you, whatever that looks like, (fyi - the bigger the game you’re playing, the louder those boos will be), remind yourself what they cheer for. Then ask yourself if they’re worth spending even a moment of your time thinking about. 

I bet they aren’t.