Originally Posted by JackieBlue
(Post 1134406)
I have no doubt that both Jon and Richie know exactly what is being said on this and other popular sites, if for no other reason than to gauge fan climate. And I am also pretty sure that Richie is well aware of the fact that his Twitter Bugs (if you will) follow everyone he mentions from Ava to Denise to the guy who carries his luggage if they can get a name.
As much as I usually appreciate your voice of reason, Mysterytrain, I have to disagree with you on this. I think when Richie refers to his fans he means all of his fans... his solo fans, the Bon Jovi Darksiders, the guys who love him primarily for his guitar, and the "band" fans who just like him as a part of the band. I don't know why anyone would think that his reference to the fans would only be that select group of fans who follow him on Twitter. Because he's "letting the [others] down" by dropping off the tour, perhaps?
I have maintained from the beginning of this that whatever reason Richie has for walking is important - not trivial, not pissy, not boredom, not... whatever. Simply because he's putting too much on the line to take the stand. What so many seem to be having a hard time wrapping their heads around is the fact that it's not a devestating illness, a tragedy of some sort, his family seems to be fine, he says he's fine (either in a Have a Nice Day way or genuinely) and seems to be going on with his life, so it simply CAN'T be important enough for him to walk off and let people down. Because WE, with our limited knowledge, haven't been able to figure out what "it" is and it's none of the things that WE would think are important, ergo, it's gotta be that the ONLY answer is that Richie's irresponsible and disrespectful to his fans. There seems to be no room amongst the preconceived notions, the hurt feelings, the Jon vs. Richie bashers, the lost money and opportunities that populate our worlds for the idea that there might be something that we don't know (that even WE would consider important, if we knew it) and that whatever that is might at the root of it. Perhaps it's a conviction that anyone else would admire him for standing up for, maybe it is a dispute with Jon and they have to get it resolved before either of them can say (and in which case, they may never say - given Jovi's secrets to the grave mentality).
But I say again that I have too much respect for Richie AND Jon to condemn either one of them until the facts are in, and maybe not even then, because even if we learn more facts, unless we're there, we don't know the whole story. So I'm not sure that even then I would be inclined to blame.
Having said that, Jessy, I owe you, at least, an apology for misrepresenting both Jon and myself in my first post. You are right. I did misquote Jon. I went back and watched the video. However, I do still feel that there was a veiled threat in the "won't be performing" line. That was what made me suspect a dispute to begin with. But he did not say "anywhere". And if I implied that Jon planned the whole thing, that was certainly not my intention. I'm not sure either of them planned any of it - hence the suddenness of it all.
What I meant to say, and not very well apparently, was that I believe that Jon prepared his comments and knew full well what the implication of those comments would be. I think he's doing what he does best - selling the band. And I do have genuine respect for his business savvy, his drive and ambition, and his work ethic, and many other qualities. In all honesty, however, I don't think he's above fighting dirty; and maybe neither is Richie, but over the years I believe we've seen more evidence of that from Jon than from his wingman.
Regardless, it's all a part of what makes them who they are and I think they're probably both people I would genuinely like, despite character flaws and unfortunate behavior at times. Just because a person behaves badly at times - as we all do - doesn't make them a bad person. Usually it just makes him a good person behaving badly.
Anyway, apparently I implied otherwise and I never meant to. So I apologize.
I really just wish people would cut Richie some slack over this. To my knowledge, except for some unfortunate circumstances over the last few years, he's been there whenever called upon, for the fans and for the band, and he's had Jon's back when Jon himself was unable to give anymore. And Richie's always shown appreciation for his fans. I guess I would like for people to focus a little more on that than on their current disappointment, especially in light of the fact that we don't know the whole story and they may not be able to tell us any more until things are resolved.
|
