Favorite member of Rush ?

[LeaveMyThingAlone]

I don't know why Neil has to be so shitty to people who like him.

 

I guess to him the world is sharply divided into long awaited friends to be embraced warmly and strangers to be ignored (his appreciative fans would fall into the latter category).

 

Sure, there are no doubt lots of loony fans out there that they've been bothered by over the years, but the typical fan - especially in the very controlled and safe environment of a meet and greet or autograph signing - isn't expecting to be seen as a "long awaited friend"; they just want to show their appreciation, maybe get a handshake, photo or autograph. Alex and Geddy seem to have managed to survive the ordeal for 40 some years.

 

Love his drumming and writing and he's probably a great guy to those who know him but his attitude towards the fans leaves much to be desired.

 

I love how people love to dis him because of how they think he really is, but honestly none of us know what goes on in his head. Nor do we know everything that has happened to him with fans. There are a lot of creepy people out there who call themselves fans (I've seen some of them on Facebook) who follow him around like stalkers. If I were him I'd be creeped out by people who claim to be fans but just want something from him. I'm sure not everyone is as nice as we would be if we met him. Well...most of us.

 

For the record, I based my previous post not so much on what I “think I know about him” as much as based on what I have consistently heard from people that have been a part of the band in some way and from fans that tried to approach Neil. When I start to hear very common themes and consistencies in their stories and experiences with him, I am comfortable forming an opinion. Again, you can be someone like Neil who is scared to death of people and fans, be able to avoid interacting with them, yet still handle these situations in a way that doesn’t come off nearly as harsh and mean. I am not referring to skipping meets and greets or interviews, etc. He has every right to do whatever he wants with those. Im just talking about interactions he happens to have with people. I just think his expectations of how he thinks people should act and react around him are totally not based on reality.. And to stomp on those favs when hey don’t act the way he thinks they should act is what shows so poorly.

 

I wonder if he has ever approached a celebrity that he knew but didn’t know him. Better yet, what if he were a 17 year old kid that happened to see Keith Moon walking along side him? Would he really not say a word to him at that age? If he did decide to approach him, would he be ok with being treated the way he treats a fan that approaches him? It’s one thing to say he wouldn’t approach his hero at this point in his life having experienced what it’s like to be a celebrity, but if he’s just another kid that is naive about these things at 17,would he really have been so enlightened as to not approach?

Edited April 18, 2018 by LeaveMyThingAlone