CRITICIZING PUBLIC SPEAKER’S DEMANDS (cross posted for archival purposes) So and

CRITICIZING PUBLIC SPEAKER’S DEMANDS

(cross posted for archival purposes)

So and so speaker, actress, musician, diva etc, demands these things from his/her hosts.

You know, this stuff is pretty normal – its not demanding. When you come to talk somewhere they ASK YOU what you want for intelligent reasons. You write it into the agreement. For me I want apples, pears, bananas, coca cola, Evian. No local bottled water please. Coke is safe world-round, grapes contain allergens that set off my asthma, and other fruits are too challenging to be sure are safe. If I can’t eat local-anything, I can survive on Evian, fruit and coca cola for a few days – especially if I can find granola bars.

If you haven’t lived your life in planes, airports, taxis and hotels over many time zones – and done so for extended periods, then you don’t really grasp how important it is to have ‘anchors’ – things that are familiar. I stay in five star hotels for an extra two or three hundred dollars a night. I fly business class. And I eat very carefully. Because otherwise I can’t PERFORM my function when people pay a LOT for you to perform your function. (and get really angry if you can’t.)

Now if you’re just an average joe that doesn’t matter. But when people pay you real money for your time, and when their time is precious, the RISK of non-performance is a serious issue for everyone involved. So rooms that are away from elevators (noise) above a certain floor (noise) without the hindi-family next door (noise), where you can count on the heat, air-conditioning, and cleanliness (disease). Where fans, prostitutes, scam artists, paparazzi, thieves, and whatever are trying to put you on the defensive or get your scarce, tired, attention.

So it’s not self appreciation that these things are meant to serve, but SELF PRESERVATION.

Only privileged […insert derogatory….] who live life in a western-bubble fail to grasp this kind of thing.

Anchors matter.