change of heart

I think I'm giving up tabloids and gossip web sites for good. I just can't take all the HATE anymore. That's really what its about. We love to judge people and hate them. Jon and Kate just got its best ratings ever at a time when they are at their most hated---why do we love to have negative feelings? I'm over it, personally. I'm over being hateful and judgemental and wallowing in negativity. I used to love the snark but I think its a side effect of the prevailing negativity of our society and its not like it used to be. I like making fun of things to find humor but that really doesn't always have to be mean. Maybe there are others, feeling the same way, and the tide will turn and we'll get a little more positive. But I think things seem hopeless enough when you turn on the news, and its not making me feel any better to make normal people celebrities so we can crucify them. Its not making me feel any better criticizing people for such minor things when I am far from a perfect person. Its especially not making me feel better pointing fingers at others and saying, "You asked for this!!" when they didn't. Just because tabloids exist and paparazzi exist and they do crazy things... I mean, how are the paparazzi legal? How is making fun of an 8 year old on the Soup ok, even if said 8 year old was on television? Where is the line? It seems like there is none. And we're constantly crying out to Perez because we want blood. Its pathetic and sad. I've been as judgemental and mean as anyone and I'm sure I will continue to be both of those things at times in the future. But I certainly am going to make an effort to understand and sympathize with people before judging them. And I'm done with tabloids forever.

The whole time the whole Britney thing was happening, all I could think was how lucky I was I wasn't made famous at 16. She had a problem, she had a breakdown, she was a person who needed help and was suffering and the whole world was watching. So what did we do? Smiled with glee as it all happened. We made her a star and then we couldn't wait to see her go crazy and fall to pieces. I don't GET IT. Do we not want others to succeed? Why is the reaction automatically that she's terrible and take her kids away and judge judge judge instead of wanting her to get help and get better and being sad when she was acting out? And she's finally making a comeback and getting her life together and what do we do? Call her fat, tell lies about her life, criticize her performance. I don't think there's a way to justify it. And it says something about you if you try.

I just wish everyone tried to understand everyone else. The whole country feels polarized and there's this constant need for others to be wrong and you to be right. But I really think we all, myself included, need to take a step back and realize that we'll be a lot happier if we try to understand others before we judge them and then, after you've tried to understand and not rushed to hate, and we STILL hate them, then its ok. And, you know, people like Kanye... They give you a license...