So, yes, I do check out E!Online more often than I am comfortable admitting to. In my own defense it is to kill time at work and exercise my own personal agency amidst a sea of tasks I would prefer to postpone as long as possible.
Don't get me wrong, in the middle of a crisis I'm not thinking "okay, let me just get a quick glimpse at the Patrick Swayze update and then I'll get right on that". But I do find some sort of relief in taking a moment to be vicariously fabulously famous through others. That and I think Robert Pattinson is dreamy. Way dreamy.
But what makes this such a shameful habit for me are all of the in-your-face paparazzi shots you see that you just know were taken while someone's personal space was being invaded. I mean, yeah it's one thing if a celebrity is walking down the street (I guess) - but taking their kids to school? Coming in and out of hospitals? Why the hell do we give a shit? And what makes these photos even worse than they already are, are the comments that other viewers leave about them.
For example, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are always shown going in and out of their daughter's preschool. Every single day it is the exact same shot - Them walking out the classroom door, looking surprised and in a hurry. Then some asshole leaves a comment like "That little girl needs to get her ears pinned back" or my favorite: "They never let their daughter walk on her own feet!" HELLO of course she can't walk on her own feet - there is a large group of smarmy and desperate men - pushing and shoving to get just one photo. FLASH FLASH FLASH, LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK OVER HERE!!
I'm calming down.
So one day I could not take it any longer and I made a comment. A simple yet public presentation of my moral high ground. My user name was "Ugh" and I didn't bother linking to the Schumanation because I don't need that kind of riff raff showing up.
I was the 3rd person to leave a comment and I said the following:
3.Could it be any more obvious that EVERY SINGLE DAY these photographers are waiting outside of this little girl's school to get this exact same photo? That is just ridiculous
It felt good to just get it out. A day later my curiosity got the best of me and I went back to see if anyone had argued my point. Sometimes they do that - commenters call other commenters out and it turns into a full blown comment war. But that didn't happen to me - in fact, other commenters agreed with me, rallied around me even... They referred to me as #3.
6.#3, I thought the same thing, #4, what in the heck are you talking about?
10.* 3 is totally right. Why are these photogs hounding this poor little girl just to get the same pic everyday? I have to admire Ben's restraint... I would have thought he would have freaked out about this by now.
So I'll be honest - these supportive reactions are totally going to my head - and I will continue to comment as "Ugh" for as long as the people need me. It's a big responsibility, but sometimes you just have to step up.
