current (sh)it boy

ANDY HURLEY (May 31st, 1980)

PETE WENTZ (June 5th, 1979)

I personally hate any kind morality thought policing. I'm not Catholic or religious and I do not feel guilty over my thoughts. You are not an inherently evil person because you saw two athletes in an interview and went "Hmmm...... what if...." The Feds are not going to come banging down your door because you wrote about one band member dicking down the other and sent it to your friend.

Wondering about other people's lives is very human. Being nosy about their personal lives is very normal. People have been writing fiction about other people's lives since the dawn of time. Some people even manage to write New York Times Bestselling Books that are "historical fiction" or "alternate reality." It does not make you inherently bad to be curious about the details of someone's personal life. That's being human. Being nosy is kind of fun.

The problem, however, comes with the ways in which people engage with it, and involve the real people in this. Harassing an musician's real girlfriend because it doesn't fit into the RPF ship. Showing up at real sporting events holding signs about how certain teammates should kiss. Trying to get actors to sign art of them fucking their coworker. Flooding social media with comments using the celebrity's full name and speculation. There's a line, there's a fourth wall, and there's fandom etiquette.

I hate the question of "Is RPF ethical" because it feels like morality thought policing. Post your fics on locked accounts, censor someone's name when you tweet about it, blow up your groupchat with hundreds of "DID YOU SEE THE WAY THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER??" texts. It's not inherently evil to wonder what other people are doing when they're out of the spotlight. Kill the cop in your mind.

this post is gaining traction so I want to add, fobs lack of voice during the initial BLM protests was very noticeable and I remember being put off and disappointed with them for some time after that. Their responses, to rightfully angry fans and supporters who were looking for more vocalization of support for the Black community at the time, were kinda dismissive. The band could have actively done more donating and raising awareness, if it was a cause they legitimately felt passionately about. That’s just my opinion.

Pete could have been much more vocal from the jump if it really bothered him, which has been an ongoing theme throughout his career. I remember the braids he got done, and I remember how quickly they came out of his head due to fans telling him he wasn’t “Black enough” to wear the style. I am aware that he spoke up and was met with serious backlash from fans and deleted his post back in 2020. But that’s the problem.

Black presenting people don’t get to choose whether we experience racism or when we have to stand up for our rights due to civil unrest. Black people were fighting for their rights way before the BLM movement. If he wanted to be apart of the movement or speak for Black lives, he very well could have. Many Biracial and mixed race celebs were speaking up at the time, getting flamed and still standing for what they believed in. Halsey and Jason Aalon Butler come to mind for me.

Pete has a huge platform and could have continued to speak out for his community if he really made that stance. His unabashed advocacy and stance with Black people at that time would have said a lot. I don’t know if he himself see’s his own experience as “Black enough” to truly have a voice in conversations within the Black community. That’s very common for many white passing, mixed race, Black folk. I’m not holding him at fault. Not calling him a bad dude. Just curious. Just stating my opinion and what I remember.