No, you're not seeing things. BeautifulPeople.com is a real website with real problems. I first saw this site when I was watching a rerun of the Colbert Report this week. When I saw it, I, too, thought I was having vision problems. Now granted, Colbert had some funny things to say (I admit I chuckled when he said that the site needed to raise a certain "filter" of sorts). But what concerns me is not Colbert's need to compete with the site by launching his Formula 401. No, I think I could save that for another post at another time. What really concerns me here is the site itself and its "business model."
In short, the site is a place where "beautiful" people can get together with other beautiful people to chat, flirt, and/or mingle. Moreover, it's a site that has a ridiculous definition of what is beautiful. Just look at the picture on the homepage of the site. We've got people sitting on a psychiatric-esque couch, people sitting next to ferocious and scary animals, and even a guy dancing like Michael Jackson and hurling an apple in the air! Talk about standards! I never knew that I had to look that good, be that skinny, dance that well, or juggle that kind of fruit to be accepted.
If you didn't watch the Colbert link, he reported that the site banned over 5,000 users because they gained some extra weight, something site founder Robert Hintze said would be a threat to his "business model." Man, this IS just like the cliques from my high school days. They are so conditional; everything is fine, your loved and accepted, AS LONG AS you don't do anything stupid (e.g. talk to the weird kid or gain a few extra L-B's). Something about that rubs me the wrong way if I may sparingly use a cliche'. I guess since I'm not like that myself, I can't really relate all that well to users of the site or their creators.
But, I was a nerdy guy back in high school who happened to be a Christian. Also, I was observant and had some friends who did fit this mold. Here's what I observed from them:
- They pretended everything was fine, but on the inside, I knew they were empty and alone.
- They had a lot of friends, but truthfully their friendships were shallow and only mattered as long as they got something out of it.
On the one hand, I look back and feel really sad that people lived this way. It's tragic, really. Doesn't that seem like an empty life to live, having your glory days fit into a small four-year window of time, and in some cases, that window being filled with sorrow and regret? That sure sounds empty to me...
The truth that I know, being a nerdy Christian guy who made it out alive from a high school that had its share of suffering, I know that everyone has a choice. Some of my classmates chose to live that empty life that high school brought them. I do understand some of them couldn't help it and others were just unaware of what was going on. Either way, it still bugs me that I didn't do more to reach out to them.
I think I'm so concerned with this website is that they are spreading this lie that to be cool, to be accepted, and to be beautiful you have to fit this certain profile, this certain hight/weight, and you have to have completed this list of debauchery. In essence,the site is making more of these people I went to high school with. It's creating more of these people who get sucked in to the mindset of the world that's fallen and misguided. If that's a Christian go-to answer, so be it.
I know that I don't want to see anybody fall victim to the lifestyle of this world or adopt their values because, frankly, their values are crap. The truth is everyone's beautiful in the Lord's eyes. He made them in HIS OWN IMAGE, and I believe that God NEVER makes mistakes; He only uses ours. I believe there's life and life to the full with the Lord as well as true forgiveness for any debauchery anyone's done. I myself may have not reached out to my friends back then, and part of me regrets that, but I know now that I don't want the world to take anyone else the way they took those friends of mine. If there's one thing you get from reading this, it's this: don't ever hesitate to respond; don't ever leave it someone else. BE that someone who saves someone else!
To use another cliche, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". What I find to be beautiful may be different than what you find to be beautiful, which may be different than anyone else in the world. What catches my attention in this is that we try to objectify beauty, which doesn't work because it's entirely subjective. Some people like thin people, some people like not so thin people, some like tall, some like short. Using another cliche,(almost hesitate to use this one) but "one man's trash is another man's treasure."
ReplyDeleteYeah that last one might be a little harsh...thanks for your insight, bro.
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