We are not perfect, especially not me. There has been times when I should have shown more empathy.
But the reason why I'm making an example out of DJ Vlad is because he REPEATEDLY said that actor Geoffrey Owens "failed as an adult" because he was bagging groceries at Trader Joe's when he's in his late 50s.
I already mentioned in a previous blog post about Geoffrey Owens and how common it is for artists, entertainers, etc to be financially struggling even after they have some dose of fame
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2018/09/surviving-as-performing-artist.html
For those who don't know, DJ Vlad is not only a DJ but the host of VladTV, an interview show specializing in hip-hop culture. He not only interviews rappers and producers, he also interviews actors, comedians and anyone else who is popular among hip-hop fans.
In the past few months, DJ Vlad tries to bait his guests by stating "I think Geoffrey Owens failed as an adult because you shouldn't be bagging groceries when you're in your late 50s". So far, none that I know express agreement with DJ Vlad.
But if you want to talk about "failure as an adult", then let's talk about "failure as an adult".
As an adult, you should have already developed some empathy for other people who are in less than ideal situations.
Some of that empathy can be developed through life experiences, some of that empathy can be developed through reading about the lives of others.
Ideally, you start developing empathy as a child. However, children tend to not be able to properly deal with other people's differences and therefore comment on them with snide remarks and ridicule.
As an adult, you should be beyond that already.
Sure, some of us slip us. We get irritated by another person without understanding the other person's situation. Some of that is because the other person isn't obligated to tell you their life's tragedies, so we don't always know it when the other person irritates us.
But when we know about the other person's situation, you should at least have some level of compassion.
As an adult, for DJ Vlad to be constantly saying that Geoffrey Owens failed as an adult because he is working at Trader Joe's show that DJ Vlad is a person who lacks empathy. He lacks compassion. He thinks empathy is for suckers. He thinks ridiculing other people's less than ideal situations is great for his business.
This is why I'm so glad Lord Jamar (rap artist who was part of the 90's era rap group Brand Nubians) got on DJ Vlad's case and told him that he needs to be empathetic to people who are struggling financially, especially being that DJ Vlad markets to the hip-hop crowd, many of whom are African-Americans and are living in less than ideal economic conditions.
There's much we don't know about Geoffrey Owen's situation. He doesn't want to do too many interviews about his situation and he has ZERO obligation to tell us about it! It is possible that he might've made bad decisions on finances. It is also possible that he might have passed on lucrative opportunities because he might have to take care of family members who are ill. (That happens to PLENTY of hard-working successful people) Maybe he passed on roles that he might've felt are demeaning or stereotyping and would prefer roles that would empower the African-American community. Or maybe there's just not enough roles for older African-American males who don't already have the level of fame of Morgan Freeman.
Or maybe all of this is none of our business because we're not Geoffrey Owens.
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I also want to talk about DJ Vlad's accussation that Geoffrey Owens situation is because he doesn't "hustle", as if he thinks his lack of recent success is because of laziness.
DJ Vlad seems to think that hard work immunizes you from poverty.
It doesn't!
Yes, hard work tends to help towards success.
But there's also this thing called LUCK!
But if I mention about luck, people get offended. They react with "how dare you call it luck, I got my success because I work hard".
But mentioning luck doesn't erase the hard work involved.
For example, look at Will Smith, a popular actor with great work ethic.
He started out as a rapper. He had a few hits, but also had some flops.
Will Smith got LUCKY that he was able to meet Quincy Jones who noticed his potential to be a sitcom actor. This at a time when people still thought rap music was a passing fad so why bother hiring rappers to be a star on sitcoms.
Because Quincy Jones advocated for Will Smith, he was able to get a role in what became a very popular sitcom "Fresh Prince of Bel Air".
Had that sitcom flopped, I doubt that many producers and directors would be so willing to have him take the lead role in so many iconic films in the late 90s. Regardless of how hard he worked!
So yes, Will Smith got lucky. Yes, he's a hard worker. That doesn't erase the fact that he got lucky enough to get all these opportunities to work hard and become an actor that gets millions of dollars per film.
But also recognize that many wannabe actors in his generation also worked hard in auditioning for roles they didn't get. Some only had minor roles, some gave up because they had bills to pay NOW and not willing to eat out of garbage cans while waiting for the dream to come true. Some of them might even be better actors than Will Smith but didn't have the name recognition that he got from having a few hit singles early in life.
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Or let's talk about Tom Brady. Everyone who worked with him says he has a great work ethic.
But he's also lucky that his talent in throwing an oval-shaped ball is a talent that millions of people are interested in watching.
Those whose talents (plus blood, sweat and tears) are in field hockey, lacrosse and handball will NEVER get the millions of dollars that Tom Brady receives due to his talents being more interesting to the millions of viewers in the US.
Had Tom Brady grew up in Romania, he wouldn't have much opportunities to work hard in honing his talent in throwing an oval shaped ball. He would have to resort to playing soccer, and I doubt he could even come close to being a multi-million dollar soccer star.
So Tom Brady is lucky. That doesn't mean he doesn't work hard. But he's lucky that his talent and skill in throwing an oval shaped ball is something profitable in the country in which he was raised.
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Here's my YouTube speech about the whole issue about DJ Vlad failing as an adult to learn empathy
"DJ Vlad Failed as an Adult to Learn Empathy"
