Haters Gonna Hate… Do It Anyway…
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Sep 4, 2015
A couple of days ago I was on one of those websites that not only talks about the top 10 this or the worse 10 that. You know the ones, where you have to go through multiple pages to see all the things or people the articles are addressing. I usually hate those sites but here and there I'm compelled to check one out.
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In this particular article, they listed J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. I don't remember anything about the article, even what the overall point was, because I got stuck on this one line: "Rowling isn't all that good a writer."
I was incredulous to say the least. It's the only book series that I continually consume, always in order, and always picking up on something I hadn't caught before. I love the detail in the books and, believe it or not, how well researched they all are. Did you know that each name in the book reflects the character based on history and dictionary definitions? I don't know many people who go that far into character development.
I also thought that this guy was off his rocker. I mean, she's the only person in history who made over a billion dollars "only" off writing, and she only wrote 7 books. Sure, she made billions more once the movies came out, but in actual income from just writing, she tops everyone... I mean everyone, including Stephen King, one of the most prolific writers of our day (not that $400 million is all that shabby).
My immediate thoughts wandered around wondering how many books this guy wrote, how many articles he's put online, what authority does he have for saying anyone isn't a good writer... lots of those types of things. But I didn't dwell on that part all that much because this phrase jumped into my mind...
"Haters gonna hate."
That's so true. It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter who it is. We all hate something that someone else loves. Sometimes we're in the majority; sometimes we're not. Sometimes we're trained evaluators of something; sometimes we're not. In general, we like what we like and hate what we hate, and no matter whether something became popular or not it is what it is.
Let that sink in for a minute... okay, moving on.
I can't remove myself from this one. I'm not a big fan of today's music; then again, I think every person I know of a certain age eventually finds the music of their day much more preferential than the music of the day. Having turned 56 yesterday, I still pine for disco; don't judge me. 🙂
A book that many critics think is one of the top books ever written is Ulysses by James Joyce. Yet, it's first edition had more than 2,000 errors, it wasn't received well when it was released, and, for my tastes, I find it pretty unreadable. I'm not feeling the love for that book or him personally; he wasn't an overly pleasant man.
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There's a song named Aqualung that was performed by a group called Jethro Tull. In college, a lot of people loved this song; it grated on my nerves. It was a song and album panned by Rolling Stone Magazine at the time, and I wondered if the fellow classmates of mine said they liked the song because they were being counter-culture (big in my day), because someone else liked it, because they didn't know what the song was about (a guy who everyone thinks is a pedophile but is in reality just a lonely old man) or actually thought it was good (which I always found intriguing because none of the people who told me they liked it could ever sing along with it). As much as I hated the song, I thought the composer, Ian Anderson, was quite the artist in creating it and, being a wanna be composer, that much impressed me.
So, I'm as much a hater as everyone else; there's no denying that. Yet, these things I hate didn't stop anyone from creating it. It didn't stop others from hating it or liking it, and for the most part these folks didn't care. Just like Rowling doesn't care that some guy doesn't like her books; it certainly hasn't stopped her from being successful.
I meet so many people who think I'm this great writer, but I'm sure I have a lot of detractors also. Yet, I keep writing, blogs, articles, books... writer's gotta write.
I consult with people who sometimes don't like what I have to say, whether I'm right or wrong. But consultants gotta consult, otherwise they're not true to themselves.
What do you want to do that you're afraid to do because you're worried someone might not like it? Or you think someone else has more talent than you? Or you don't think you're as worthy as someone else?
Maybe you're hating on yourself; don't do that. We can't make everyone like what we do, but we can't get anyone to like what we do if we don't do anything. Wayne Gretzky supposedly said "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
Haters gonna hate; do it anyway, take that shot.
Oh you are right. “the ones, where you have to go through multiple pages to see all the things or people the articles are addressing.” are the worst. So annoying.
You make good points here Mitch. As long as there are people, there are going to be haters. The most annoying of which are the ones who shout, “All Republicans do this or that” or “The Dems are a disgrace because they…” (fill in the blank.) Seems today’s biggest hater is Donald Trump. Does he ever speak positivily of anything?
Anyway, happy birthday Mitch. Hope you had a good one.
Troy, Trump does speak positively… about himself! lol The thing about him is that he proves part of what I’m saying. People hate him but others love him, so he plays to his audience and it’s working so far. All of us have an audience, and if we can attract them… well, you just never know.
Did you see the video of Obama roasting Trump? Funny stuff. Just ‘Google’ search ‘obama roasts trump’ and you can see it. Good stuff there.
If it’s the one from a couple of years ago I remember seeing that and Trump not being happy about it. Guy can’t take a joke…
Well, you’re right. Everyone has someone that hates them and like you said in response to Troy, We all have an audience.
It’s all about finding our tribe, isn’t it?
Well… kind of. I don’t like the word “tribe” in general unless it’s associated with those specific groups who use it for their own purposes. So, I’ll say instead that it behooves us to find those whose minds are open to what we have to say and share; yeah, I like that better. lol
Hi,
A certain wise man once said “The only way you’s not be criticised is to do nothing and achieve nothing.
We will always have haters, so we should brace ourselves up for the challenges ahead abd go ahead to overcome it, the haters notwithstanding.
Cheers
Dan
Good stuff Dan. I’ve heard that statement before and it’s so true it almost hurts. 🙂
Harry Potter is historical fiction? I might check it out.
I’m not much of a fiction reader though I’ve found a writer I love. Haruki Murakami. He’s a genius in my book.
“Sitting on a park bench. Snots running down his nose.” Aqualung is rock and roll HisToRy!
I love the way the song takes twists and turns every step of the way.
Did you know it’s based on Ian Anderson’s (singer) views of the homeless? Interesting stuff.
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Michael Jordan
First, what happened to your gravatar? Do you need to set it up with your Gmail account?
Second, it’s not necessarily about liking fiction or not but about taking action regardless of whether we get support or not. Of course, constructive criticism should always be processed, but when it’s not constructive then move away from it and do your thing.
And I still don’t like that song! lol