A View From the Deck: Bieber-Fever Leads to Bratty Behavior

I am about to earn the wrath of every teenaged female in the world when I state:

Following the trend of many young celebrities, Justin Bieber, aka ‘the Biebs,’ has allowed his ego to grow to the size of his bank account.

This (admittedly biased) observation comes after the self-anointed ‘Prince Charming of the Prepubescent’ got into an altercation with a paparazzi the other day, hurling obscenities at the shutterbug, and even going so far as to jump out of the soccer mom-mobile (minivan) he was being driven around in to go after the man. A man who looked to be twice the Biebs’ size, incidentally. This was after ‘poor Justin’ suffered a bout of what was described as ‘shortness of breath’ during his performance at Dublin, Ireland’s O2 Arena, and was hospitalized for observation.

Shortness of breath at the O2 Arena. Can you appreciate the irony? 

The Biebs has been earning the ire of many of the more mature crowd as of late. On his birthday he Tweeted about how bad it was because several of his underage ‘peeps’ weren’t allowed into a bar to celebrate with him. Aw. So sad. Add to this his weeknight show delay of over 2 hours that forced the parents of his unable-to-drive-themselves-anywhere fans to get home late and his adoring devotees found themselves having to attend the following school day half asleep.

Bieber regularly Tweets his gripes and complaints to his followers, and very little of these show any appreciation whatsoever for his fan base. I guess he’s forgotten that his bank account has grown due to his fans, or rather, his fans’ parents’ hard-earned cash that they shell out for his overpriced shows. He’s also forgetting that many once considered him as a role model; someone whom they looked up to for inspiration, due to his proclaimed beliefs.

Justin Bieber seems to be going the way of many youthful celebrities, in the erroneous belief that “There’s no such thing as BAD publicity,” and his sense of entitlement is growing ever more boorish. To say that the Biebs is now acting out the role of a ‘spoiled brat’ is an understatement.

But maybe poor Justin knows that his star in the Pop world is on the verge of dimming. After all, he’s 19 now, an ‘old man’ in the quickly-changing Pop-Rock realm. Maybe Bieber, desperate to cling to his fleeting fame, manufactures attention-getting scenarios to have the love-starved hearts of his fan base want to provide him with nurture and wishes of ‘Get Well,’ all the while adding more and more to his growing fortune.

The Biebs is also starting to believe his own publicity, and seems equally desperate to be taken seriously as an Alpha male. How else can one explain jumping out of the secure confines of a minivan after a burly paparazzi and having to be restrained by, not one, but two steroid-dependent personal security providers? And if Bieber was so concerned with ‘trying to get out of (the hospital) unnoticed,’ then WHY the bright red shirt and goofy hat?

In all fairness, perhaps the brattish behavior and offstage antics are the products of Bieber’s agents and managers. Maybe they’re trying to get him to leave behind the clean-cut, Christian, all-Canadian Boy appeal that first launched his career, in favor of something more controversial, simply for the sake of keeping him on top of the charts. I personally find it really hard to see Bieber pulling off the whole ‘Bad Boy’ image. The celebs that have managed it with a degree of success had something that Justin has yet to demonstrate that he is in possession of: Testosterone.

Will the Biebs be taking the same tracks toward the train wreck that has become Lindsay Lohan? Judging by his recent behavior over the past weeks, it seems that he in fact has a ticket, and is ready to hop aboard at any time. Hopefully, he’ll grow up, start becoming more appreciative of his now-out-of-kindergarten fan base, and quit taking himself so seriously.

One thing is certain. Everyone liked Justin Drew Bieber much more before he became the entitled, obnoxious, paparazzi-attacking, ever-whining and complaining brat now known as ‘the Biebs.’

Now I have to go deal with the mob of angry teenaged girls banging on my door, brandishing pitchforks and torches. Stop by if you’re in the neighborhood and bring hot dogs and marshmallows. The fire looks to be pretty big.