All-Star We Need To Talk.

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Also, the anon in question seems to be motivated by being a fan of a particular athlete?

I know that we are all fans of some pro athletes to some degree. Ex: OBJ, Steph, etc.

But being a fan of what amounts to a little kid playing a youth sport (fan pages, etc.) is a bit weird.

I know we've talked on the boards about it and there are some moms who know these people and say they actually like the attention their kids get. Or actually tried to get "cheer famous." I don't understand that. I can tell you if I opened social media and saw a soccer fan page for my son I would be livid and freaked out.

(Yes, some of us may know of names of some specific kids and may be like "awww she won Worlds." and that is different. We aren't fan page makers.)

IT IS WEIRD. And what I think a lot of these anon kids miss is: lots of these athletes didn’t ask for any of their notoriety. The memed SE athlete in particular didn’t ask for it. It just happened to her. So for a bunch of random kiddos to idolize her and place all these unattainable expectations on her — or hate her for whatever reason they make up in their heads — is absurd. She’s not a celebrity who worked for fame. She was just a kid from North Carolina who took a great pic. But it’s all the same to these fans who treat her the same way they treat adults who sought celebrity: like they owe them something. It’s all the same to them through the Twitter haze.

 

[MomMomMamaMom]

I don’t know. I have so many thoughts about this. First, I feel so much empathy for the athlete who had to face this. Then I feel proud for her, that she’s able to be articulate, take accountability for a mistake, show respect for her sport, her gym and her teammates ALL IN ONE POST! This is what I want to see parents talking to their kids about. LOOK, CHILD(REN) OF MINE, THIS IS HOW YOU DO THIS!

But I also remember when CSP targeted (mostly threatened) anons whom she knew to be minors, and wonder if she feels the slight sting of hypocrisy. People trolling people is wrong, no matter what the justification, and while she was being protective, and defending her true heart, she was also collaborating with someone who made his entire career on being mean, opinionated and doxing people in the name of notoriety. WHICH WORKED INCREDIBLY WELL BY THE WAY! .

Then, I wonder if it isn’t a symptom of a social media society. None of us have to say anything publicly, about loving our team, what we think is cool, or funny, or horrid, or whatever. Yet here we are, doing it, with people we’ve never established trust or reciprocity with, because we’re just kind of compelled to. Social media isn’t just an exchange of information, it is image building and maintaining. There are advantages, You learn things, you meet people you wouldn’t know otherwise, you find others who agree with you, You feel pride and love when everyone sings their song for them, they get fans, business booms, all products of notoriety. BUT YOU ALSO LOSE PRIVACY, PROTECTION, THE ABILITY TO ERR WITHOUT WIDESPREAD JUDGEMENT.. and people are cruel to you, and to people associated with you.

I wish people would behave with a modicum of respect. That the golden rule was as easy to apply as negative spouting was. That people actually cared about how they affected others. But in a lot of ways, I think that by taking every thought, every accomplishment, every thing we are knowledgeable about and making it public, we open ourselves up to the phenomenon of trolling. And by giving attention to everything we just end up worshipping notoriety over substance.

 

[catlady]

The best defense is a good offense. We can't control what these anon's say, but we can teach our kids to control their reactions. The first time someone spews this nonsense to anyone, kids need to be told to ignore and block. We give way too much validation to people that don't give a frick or frack for themselves or anyone else in life. I'm always surprised at how many parents follow these accounts saying that's how they keep on top of the cheer drama. You can't have it both ways, either you feed the drama or you shut it down.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Yes. I'm not sure if you're a parent but when the mama bear claws come out, there

The best defense is a good offense. We can't control what these anon's say, but we can teach our kids to control their reactions. The first time someone spews this nonsense to anyone, kids need to be told to ignore and block. We give way too much validation to people that don't give a frick or frack for themselves or anyone else in life. I'm always surprised at how many parents follow these accounts saying that's how they keep on top of the cheer drama. You can't have it both ways, either you feed the drama or you shut it down.

It's like the coworker who says "I DON'T DO DRAMA" or "OMG I HATE DRAMA" but they are also the first person running to you to tell you something that is none of your business!