Hatin' On Britney Spears
Victoria Hardy
August 30, 2007
I see we are hating again. First Paris, now Britney and I wonder why we derive such pleasure in hating these young blondes. For a while we hated Anna Nicole Smith, but then she lost her son and of course, died herself and we didn’t hate her so much anymore. So why do we in America love to hate so much?
Ms. Spears has been “product” since she was 8 years old, groomed and taught the ways of the business and it certainly has paid off, but for whom? Yes, she has a lot of money and a lot of fame, but she also has a lot of sharks attempting to pull her down. Everyone knows her name and they either love her or hate her, but above all else, they like to talk about her. And I wonder if all that energy focused on her and all those words swirling about produce a force that is palpable.
As I read the message boards and see how hundreds of people are posting and demanding that her young sons be removed from her custody, I shudder. For me, I guess it’s a karma thing; I try not to wish anything on someone that I would not wish on myself. And if we Americans were truly honest we would recognize that we all made mistakes as young parents, yes, all of us. Imagine struggling to raise a couple kids under two years old while perpetually being filmed, could anyone pass the muster?
I guess I feel a little sorry for Ms. Spears and perhaps a strange connection having also been raised in the South, having a child at a young age and fighting a custody battle. I never really gave much thought to Ms. Spears until she shaved her head and when I saw the pain and confusion she was experiencing, my heartstrings were pulled. But most of us simply laughed, mocked and made jokes concerning her sanity, without taking a deeper look.
And I suppose I wonder where the compassion lies in our society? Yes, she’s young, beautiful and rich, is that alone enough reason to hate her? In my eyes she’s still a kid, never having had any real childhood and forced to perform since she was a child. I know it is said that Ms. Spears has wanted fame since she was born, but she also had parents who could have said “no”, “wait”, “not this time”… so who was the parent in that relationship? Having a strong role model is the best way to learn good parenting skills, but many of us have to struggle through and learn from our mistakes. Luckily most children survive the mistakes made by first time parents and hopefully those children forgive us and do better for the next generation.
When I see so much anger directed at young, beautiful Hollywood starlets, starlets that we put in place through our own choices, I am left confused. When I see so much energy directed at something, which really means nothing in the bigger scheme of the world, I am doubly confused. With all that energy directed in the right places, we could literally change the world. If we aimed the emotion we spend on hating these young women to stop wars, expose corrupt politicians or support honest ones and topple deceitful corporations our world would shine with a new light. But alas, I suppose it is easier to be an armchair hater.
Ms. Spears has been “product” since she was 8 years old, groomed and taught the ways of the business and it certainly has paid off, but for whom? Yes, she has a lot of money and a lot of fame, but she also has a lot of sharks attempting to pull her down. Everyone knows her name and they either love her or hate her, but above all else, they like to talk about her. And I wonder if all that energy focused on her and all those words swirling about produce a force that is palpable.
As I read the message boards and see how hundreds of people are posting and demanding that her young sons be removed from her custody, I shudder. For me, I guess it’s a karma thing; I try not to wish anything on someone that I would not wish on myself. And if we Americans were truly honest we would recognize that we all made mistakes as young parents, yes, all of us. Imagine struggling to raise a couple kids under two years old while perpetually being filmed, could anyone pass the muster?
I guess I feel a little sorry for Ms. Spears and perhaps a strange connection having also been raised in the South, having a child at a young age and fighting a custody battle. I never really gave much thought to Ms. Spears until she shaved her head and when I saw the pain and confusion she was experiencing, my heartstrings were pulled. But most of us simply laughed, mocked and made jokes concerning her sanity, without taking a deeper look.
And I suppose I wonder where the compassion lies in our society? Yes, she’s young, beautiful and rich, is that alone enough reason to hate her? In my eyes she’s still a kid, never having had any real childhood and forced to perform since she was a child. I know it is said that Ms. Spears has wanted fame since she was born, but she also had parents who could have said “no”, “wait”, “not this time”… so who was the parent in that relationship? Having a strong role model is the best way to learn good parenting skills, but many of us have to struggle through and learn from our mistakes. Luckily most children survive the mistakes made by first time parents and hopefully those children forgive us and do better for the next generation.
When I see so much anger directed at young, beautiful Hollywood starlets, starlets that we put in place through our own choices, I am left confused. When I see so much energy directed at something, which really means nothing in the bigger scheme of the world, I am doubly confused. With all that energy directed in the right places, we could literally change the world. If we aimed the emotion we spend on hating these young women to stop wars, expose corrupt politicians or support honest ones and topple deceitful corporations our world would shine with a new light. But alas, I suppose it is easier to be an armchair hater.
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