I can’t stay indifferent, Because I know the outcome.
I suspect you’re all expecting some snarky, unsympathetic reaction to the disaster that Britney Spears has become. And maybe if it was someone else, I might react that way, but it’s so glaringly obvious that she’s more of a messed up, misguided girl who needs her family to step up and grab a hold of her and shake the shit out of her than some spoiled moron who pulls childish stunts to get herself some attention (hello, Paris, Nicole, and Kim Kardashian).
I mean, what do you expect? Her idiot parents put her in singing and dance lessons from the minute she can walk and talk, and started grooming her to be a singer (albeit not a very good one). She was entered in talent shows, beauty pageants, and went on tv shows as a small child, all for the goal of becoming a star. Her entire childhood was spent working. Working to please her parents and become a big star. She didn’t get the luxury of making all of the stupid mistakes we all made as teenagers while we were going to school, and hanging out with our friends and breaking curfew. Because she was working. She was on tour. She was doing horrible movies.
So by the time she became an adult (well, legally), she suddenly had tens of millions of dollars, a house in Malibu, and no fucking common sense whatsoever. Her parents couldn’t collect anymore of her income, so they went back home to the sticks in Louisiana and started focusing on making little Jamie Lynn their next cash cow, leaving Britney all alone. She had no functional life experience to draw on - the only education (if you can call it that) is from whatever tutor was hired to teach her on the back of a tour bus.
It’s obvious after watching her in the last week that she is teetering on the edge, and she needs help. If I learned anything from the (exhausting) Anna Nicole Saga, it’s that sometimes pointing and laughing is funny at the time, but there will come a day when you’ll feel a little sad about whoever or whatever it is you’re laughing at. And that’s how I feel about Britney Spears right now. I feel badly for her. I feel like all the stupid things we do as teenagers, and young mothers, is done privately, and without the benefit of the world’s (harsh) view and opinions.
That doesn’t mean I think what she’s doing is OK. I don’t think bailing on your kids and drinking and doing drugs every night is acceptable (whoever thought K-Fed would be the responsible parent?). But I think people need to lighten up and lay off. She’s breaking down. She needs a good support system around her. She needs her family to stop thinking about Britney The Star and think about Britney The Daughter - the one who’s spiraling out of control because she’s probably overwhelmed and confused and doesn’t know what she’s doing, because there’s no one there to show her the way.
But the biggest tragedy of all this - the worst part of all - is that I may be lactose intolerant.
I don’t want to live in a world where we watch people destroy themselves for sport.
And I can’t eat cheese.
Dammit.
Comment by warcrygirl
February 22, 2007 @
Nooooo!!!!! Not lactose intolerance! What has this world come to????