Hot take: We all need to stop being fans of things, people, and brands

Most of us have been fans of things at one point in our life or another. It may have been (and probably was) a sports team or it could have been a brand. It could have been a person, celebrity, or even just a company itself.

We all have our experiences with fandom and I'll own that a lot of it can be very positive. But there are a couple of very negative points to fandom, particularly in the past ten years or so, that I feel must make us reject the call of fandom.

First off, have you ever heard the saying of how you should never meet your heroes? That obviously wouldn't apply to every single human (side note: for the love of god people need to stop using "not all" arguments for so many damn reasons), but I do think that it applies to a lot of people who you might have grown up idolizing.

"Ignorance is bliss" is another saying that I think carries a lot of truth and I don't mean this in the "what they don't know can't hurt them sense" (because I think that would be unethical) but more in the sense of just that the more you know, the more you realize how messed up everything else is. Any of my peers who entered into their 30s recently can probably empathize with that.

When you're a fan of someone or something there's a strong chance that you're a fan of the part of them that they are willing to show you (like a social media profile or acting credentials) and not a fan of how this person or company might actually be because you don't know these people - not really, anyway. Do you like what you're seeing from this showcased side of them? That's absolutely fine and I'm not telling you to never engage in brands or stop eating and drinking things you like because a company makes them.

I also realize that despite trying to ward against fandom, that we can never one hundred percent escape it and that's totally fine too; I don't think that a little bit of fandom is going to hurt anyone as long as it doesn't go too far and it also has concrete limits. Like, for instance, maybe reconsider being a fan of someone whose work you like but has verified sexual assaults perpetrated. You know, just for starters.

And I'm not saying start hating a song you used to like or something like that because the musician ended up being an asshole. I think it's human to like what you like and you shouldn't deny that. But you should understand and be able to articulate that you're a fan of the song in particular and not of that garbage that produced it. That doesn't mean I think that you should continue to buy from said musician either. I think there's a limit to allowed yourself human and understandable reactions vs. ignoring a hard truth that is in front of you. It's not all or nothing and it exists on a spectrum just like everything else.

But fandom can have some really terrible consequences. It is akin to turning a blind eye to everything that the object of your affection does, no matter how bad it is, because being a fan of something has become a tacit endorsement of that thing as a part of who you are, which is the most destructive element of fandom.

I write about business a lot. Other business publications and writers will talk about cultivating a followership or about making the public fans of your brand. This is an important element of business and there's a reason that there are entire marketing departments at companies. It just makes a lot of sense because your brand is everything. But I draw the line at telling people to be certain types of fans and that type of fan is a blind fan.

Your support should be conditional and it's okay to withdraw or revise your opinion in light of new information. I don't think anyone should dig in their heels to the extent where they ignore all outside input as seems to be the popular case today. Listen to others, think critically, and listen to actions. Don't adopt an opinion because someone seems respected and important but also don't dismiss it because they are "elite" or successful, or even because they may have ulterior motives. It's our duty to get to the truth of things and therefore we should accept as much input as we can to continually revise our opinion until we can be almost scientifically sure of our own conclusions. Is that exhausting? Yeah. Is it always possible? Hell no. Should we strive for it, especially when it's an important subject in question? Absolutely.

"My team is better than your team." "Leftists are snowflakes." "People on the Right are fascists." "Coke is better than Pepsi." "Pepsi is better than Coke." "I really love [insert musician here]." Maybe some of that stuff is true. Maybe it isn't. Who cares? It's your opinion - which doesn't make it sacred or anything - and you should know that opinion is subjective and should never be taken as gospel. A little friendly back and forth? Yeah, sure. But never let this stuff consume you and never let this stuff become a part of your identity. You're not a Pepsi person. You're not a Coke person. You're a person. You make mistakes. You do good things and bad. You love and hate. We're all imperfect and that's great. All this other stuff is just noise.

Deadly protests in the US all year culminating (so far) in a violent one at the Capitol that shook Americans more than the others (I think because it related to the concept of democracy but someone who understands why they didn't seem to give as much of a fuck about the other ones can better explain that to me - I don't pretend to understand the difference). All the division in the world created by rampant fandom and a "the person can do no wrong" attitudes. Wake up. Of course they can do wrong and if they're in the government, they aren't people who you should be fans of - they work for you! 

It's important to see things as they are. Like people, places, and companies until they give you a reason not to. Don't like something? Speak with your dollars if you are so fortunate. In Capitalism that's the only language that truly makes a difference. We're all human and everything is technically a construct. Know what that means? We decide how we play, not others. And we play a game where there's compassion, empathy, and a respect for diversity because it helps us come together and make a better society. That's what I want to be a fan of (pun heavily intended).