Until only a few years ago now, I listened to the same garbage that I now hate. I defended it and enjoyed it. And I can't exactly pinpoint the exact moment when it changed for me. I can't lay my finger on the exact precipice that led me to understand how bad that crap really was. What I do know, though, is that I can never go back.
And while every now and then I'll still enjoy a couple of songs that come out into the mainstream (hell, I can even still enjoy some of Blake Shelton's early work before he went all-wholly-douchebag), the idea that anything that these fake posers put out could even compare in quality to the real country music that's still out there if you're willing to look is ridiculous.
The idea that anyone could classify Florida Georgia Line as "country" after hearing Stoney LaRue's Aviator is something I cannot fathom.
Which may be part of the reason many of these fans of the music that is played on the radio are so damn hesitant to seek any other sources of new music. A part of them knows that what's being fed to them isn't country, and if they hear real country music, there will be no way that they can deny it any longer. As long as their sole source of information and new music comes out of that radio dial, they can fall back on (at least in their own minds) the idea that 'well, the radio told me it's country, so it must be true.' Once they hear what real country music sounds like, what it's supposed to sound like, there's no denying it anymore. They'll be forced to admit they've been fooled. They'll be forced to admit that their favorite artists are wannabe posers who have no business labeling their music as country.
Consider me part of the crowd that is glad to be away from that mindset. And forgive me my past transgressions against the genre of country music.