Guess Who? The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
There’s a new kid on the block, and at this point his career prospects look pretty darn promising.
Along with his natural, rock-star charisma, he’s been tutored by high-level management and sponsorship — and combined with the necessary vital “street cred,” his ideological activism, conviction, and dedication to social causes has gotten the full attention of the trend-making twenty-somethings, and of the idol makers of marketing: In the last couple of weeks he’s been charting mainly as #2, with a bullet, but his fame is really blowing up — last week he rolled right over #1, to grab the top spot.
There doesn’t seem to be much question that he’ll soon be going places.
Though quite young in years, like so many up-and-coming urban performers nowadays, he’s already been caught up in his share of public controversy — drugs, neighborhood “drive-bys,” brushes with the authorities, and disasters with stage pyrotechnics. By some accounts, he has been guilty of sometimes hurting people (to the point of allegedly even “ruining lives”) in his daring efforts to get his compelling, life-changing message to the world. Of course, there are always the naysayers.
But despite the scandals (or, probably, the moreso because of them) his videos are exploding all over TV and the internet, and agents are lining up to talk to him. Millions of fans and supporters follow him on various social media sites worldwide. His “hash tag” on Twitter is all the rage.
The massive, 24/7 security cordon around him is impenetrable.
It’s gotten to the point now where he can’t even leave his room.
Due to some intense family drama, legal entanglements, and stressors which have impacted his health, he was forced to interrupt a weekend yachting vacation late last Friday afternoon and has, predictably, been checked into a prolonged inpatient rehab at one of Boston’s best hospitals. Paparazzi from around the globe are now camped outside the building, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta comments on his updated status about every hour on CNN.
Credible reports are that a full-scale, professional intervention had to be organized and carried out by parties who were seriously concerned about him, within sight of tawdry media vultures circling overhead of the borrowed vessel within which he had really only sought peace and quiet.
Of course, given all the preponderant circumstances, he’ll likely have to lay low for awhile — go “underground,” as it were, and weather the storms.