In case you haven't heard about it yet, we thought we would pass along this story. The Backstreet Boys have broken the heart of 5 year old girl who suffers from leukemia. 

Morgan Zalewski has but one dream, to meet her favorite pop band. When asked to visit the girl in the hospital, where she is under going chemotherapy, during their visit to near by Detroit this past weekend, the Backstreet Boys claim they were too busy. 

It's ok for little Morgan to shell out her parents money for Backstreet boys paraphernalia, but when asking for something in return the band's handlers give a resounding "No!". 

There has been quite a stir since this story broke, we were going to ignore it here, but since I heard it first on Thursday morning while listening the Ralph Show biz report on L.A.'s Kroq, the rage has been slowly building. 

Who do these guys think they are? Don't they realize that they are unlike normal musicians, who can get a way with not visiting sick five-year-old girls? This is their fan base, the same people who buy Backstreet Boys can be found buying Barney toys, and you better believe Barney would go to a sick girl in need. 

Perhaps they forgot they were a slickly packaged product, and began thinking of themselves as "Real" musicians? Their arrogance is renowned, they think they deserve their fame because of the their talent. As the recent Jack in Box ad campaign shows, it's all a gimmick,  a time honored sure thing in the recording industry. It's called bubble gum, and the teenie boppers of any generation will flock to buy the product these record producers put out. Whether it is the Osmonds, or  New Kids on the Block, they sell millions because of marketing not talent. 

Morgan's request was handled by the Rainbow Connection, a group that tries to make sick children's dreams come true. 
"We used every resource we possibly could," said Patricia Flack, the director of the Rainbow Connection. 

The Backstreet Boys response, was to say they didn't have time to meet with Morgan. She still wanted to go to the show, even after the rejection.  "That's how she is," said Morgan's father. "She accepts it and just goes on." Couldn't they take a couple of minutes back stage before or after the show to meet with her? Too busy for that? Can't take a minute for a quick snap shot with the little girl? 

Their defense is they get thousand of request like this a day, and they simply can't answer them all. But even after all the media flack over this incident, they couldn't make an exception for Morgan? N'sync probably would. 

To further their excuse for shattering little Morgan's dream, the band's publicity machine pointed out that the Backstreet Boy were honored by the Make-A-Wish foundation as the 1999 Celebrity Wish Grantors of the Year.

So it looks like Morgan's request should have went through the better known organization? Would it have made a difference? Who knows? All I know is the sooner their 15 minutes of fame are up, the better. 

What I propose is all you girls out there should go to the local used CD store sell them all your Backstreet Boys merchandise, then take the money and send it as a donation in Morgan's name to an organization that helps Children with Leukemia. There are many to choose from, click here for a list from Yahoo. 

antiGUY

Rant or Rave? Your turn, post you comments and thoughts on this news item. But hey keep it clean, we wouldn't want to have to wash your mouth out with Old Spice.

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