You Shall Not Pass

I was just told I have too many negative people in my space.

I was also told I focus too much on the haters around me.



I think what I have is too many people who don't get me in my space...or on the fringes of my space.



In some ways, they are almost as bad as the negative people (who are also on the fringes of my space).

If you don't know me or get me, please wait before you try to judge me. This applies to even those who think they know me best. Don't assume you understand my methods of coping or existing, and don't apply your template for thinking to any of it.

You really don't. (via GIPHY)

You see too much focus; I see me marking my fxcking perimeter and closing it off and putting up warning signs. I see barbed wire and a circle of salt, and a "YOU ARE SEEN. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE IF YOU HAVE COME TO WREAK HAVOC."

Yeh... bai. (via GIPHY)

You see me "responding" to negativity; I see me declaring who I am to the world and the Universe, and not backing down from my statement.



Completely ignoring the presence of those who come for you--I mean, REALLY come for you-- is not positive. It is setting yourself up for a possible problem, and I will not abide.



Do you leave your home unlocked when you see the wrong people about? Do you ignore them and keep on as you were with the windows up exposing all your valuables? No, you put up security. You install an alarm or a deterrent. You let people know that you are at home.



That...is what I'm about. Letting that element know, if and when they try to come for me, that I am at home and that alarm is on and they will NOT pass...and they will regret if they try.

He was polite about it. (via GIPHY)

If I talk about it, it is to raise awareness of it being there. Not lamentation...and not acceptance.



Once you realise this--and the fact that everyone's experience is relative to them--we'll get on just fine. Invalidating by saying "If I did that..." or something similar is not going to help anything.



TLDR: Get off your assumptions about people and find out the truth instead. My experience and methods ain't yours.

...aaaaand I'm out. (via GIPHY)

Public Service Announcement

via Board of Wisdom

📣PSA:



Promoters/Gatekeepers/Influencers:

You can't simultaneously be supportive and dismissive of an artist.



If you approach an artist verbally about your interest in them and say you will follow up...



FOLLOW UP.



The ball is in your court. Don't wait for the artist to come to you. You expressed interest. If you fail to follow up we will just move on, much as you would if the roles were reversed. You can't even be mad if an artist complains about your lack of professionalism.

via Giphy

On the other side of that coin...artists, if you approach these people verbally and say you will contact them, do so. You went to them. Follow through. It's okay to pitch yourself to blogs and publications. How else will they know you? It is also okay to make yourself so known they come to you.



When an artist complains once in awhile about not getting the recognition they know they actually (read: not think they do) deserve when they have been grinding forever and walking their talk, it's not always entitlement. It's reality, because people out here still treating the entertainment like they mean nothing, and the first people to bxtch about our unrest are the promoters who do their damndest to milk every indie artist for their hard earned money.

Promoters be like:
(via Giphy)

Pay you just to be on your obscure radio show or podcast? No.



Pay you hundreds to be in a slot on a tour or so-called "industry showcase" that might not even be at a time when people see me? Nope.



Pay you to perform for less than ten minutes at a glorified block party? Fxck dat shxt.



Pay you for an interview in a magazine that pretty much was printed on your HP Envy and left in the corner of a bodega window and call it distribution? Really?!



No, you're right--nobody owes us anything... but for just being human and alive we deserve respect...until we prove otherwise.

We do have the right to vent our frustration. If you take offence, you are probably guilty.

It's prolly you.
(via Giphy)