Know Your Platform
It hasn’t been that long since the tragedy that took the life of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others, but I’m still in shock. This one really hurt and was the first time I was impacted by the loss of someone I’ve never met. Growing up, Kobe was my favorite player and I rooted for the Lakers simply because of him. Obviously, he gained worldwide fame for his abilities on the court, but I’m not here to talk about any of his stats, championships, or other basketball accomplishments. There are plenty of celebrities – athletes, actors, musicians, etc. – who have become famous and commanded large followings, whether these followings are deserved or not. Our culture has a strange relationship with fame and in the social media age it has become even easier to acquire some level of fame for various good or questionable reasons. And in my quantitative mind, I think it’s reasonable to claim that the impact of our words is proportional to our “fame” or level of follo