It’s been seen time and time again. For some reason celebrities tend to view themselves as invulnerable and above the law. The prime example of this scenario is Justin Bieber following the recent events that took place in Miami Beach, FL.
Aside from driving drunkenly, Bieber was charged with resisting arrest and driving without a valid license. The entire situation reminds me of an anonymous poem that was implanted into my mind through years of Red Ribbon Week assemblies known as “Death of an Innocent.” Sure, Bieber certainly did not kill anyone, but the irresponsibility of his actions easily could have ended in such a tragic way. The darkest part of this whole debacle is not so much the actions that took place, but the millions of “Belibers” who stood by the offender. This led to the trending of “Free Bieber” on social media sites using the “everyone makes mistakes” excuse to justify his actions. Would people still stand by their “hero” if the events had taken a darker turn?
As a person who has become so influential to the young adult community, one would assume that Bieber would try to use his fame for good. Perhaps he should take his role model status and channel it into positivity. With so many people looking to Bieber as a moral ground, which is certainly a mistake, the 19-year old has several responsibilities to uphold and, as of now, he’s going down a dark and self-destructive path. So with millions of “Beliebers” out there looking to Bieber for this support and understanding of the way the world works, should he not be trying harder to respect the law? If so many people are willing to support Justin Bieber and he’s not willing to uphold the responsibilities that come with fame where does that leave his followers?