Appreciate the critical perspective.

Frankly I hope that 10-year-old's group was a local law enforcement honeypot because those "fans" are not to be trusted.

Still couldn't help wondering if they were overdoing the negativity.

Like that academic who said the men wanted to be loved without working for it. That's how love actually works. It's not supposed to be a quid pro-quo. Besides, the fans are absolutely working for access to the idols. They literally pay for it. That's what's so weird about it.

But there has to be something fans were getting from the experience. Like, is there some sort of kinship among them? There are women fans. I guess they could also be creeps, just of a lesbian variety. But the simpler explanation is that they're having fun. Is this what Hooters is like?

The whole Sex-Pistols comparison was surprising. And I don't really buy it. You don't rebel against economic scarcity by throwing cash at a para-social relationship. Would have liked to have seen more of this stuff fleshed out.