Is it possible to be an advocate without being self righteous?
Ok, so this blog is also about Paris Hilton…but I didn't want to just come out and say it right off because I'm loathe to admit I'm actually writing, in part, about her.
There are many dimensions to the current Paris phenomena and this leaves so much room for us to learn and talk about ourselves.
I've never…ever ever…understood her mass appeal. I don't find her talented, intriguing, attractive, fascinating, captivating, stimulating. Hell, I could go on and on and on about the many ways Paris Hilton fails to entertain, amuse or demand respect. Same said for Britney, Ritchie, Lohan, Beyonce, etc. They are all dispensable, replaceable…worst of all - manufactured. Though, I imagine none more so manufactured through privilege than Paris herself.
That, obviously, would be reason one why we take pleasure in her demise. I myself smiled when I heard she was dragged from court crying and screaming. This heiress of disgusting opulence and advocate only for herself; it's hard to imagine a more satiating outcome than pictures of the princess handcuffed in a patrol car crying for her freedom, her comfortable life, her mother. However, my smile was fleeting because those pictures weren't truly satisfying as the princess was crying only for herself. And, why shouldn't she be?
No matter what kind of satisfaction any of us might get from the latest chapter of the Paris phenomenon because we think she received "justice" without garnering any "special treatment" the truth is none of this will likely cause her to do any soul searching introspection - - ironically, quite the opposite. Hell, she tipped her hand as she was escorted out of court and back to jail when she declared, "This isn't right!"
She doesn't believe it is right…her parents don't believe it is right. Likely, no one encompassing her believes it is right and everyone at her ear is a chorus bewailing the injustice of it all. The ego and identity of Paris will refuse, out of pure function alone, to admit her role in this ordeal. Just like she can everything else, she can afford denial. She will likely refuse to own up to her actions and the consequences of those actions. She, and everyone around her, will expectedly blame this outcome on the vindictiveness of the public who only wish to see her suffer for being such a fucking disgusting princess.
In part, they are right. They are right because we've created the possibility for them to be right. Many of us wish to see her suffer and I'm sure some of us even hope this suffering will, in some way, cause her to change. Maybe some of us don't give two shits if she changes or not. Maybe she's just the proverbial car crash we simply can't look away from. Whatever the reasons, we have fed her ego, given her a sense of self righteousness beyond the common one inherent in all humankind. We all take part in making her what she is simply by looking in her direction, even if out of pure disgust.
So, if Paris is burning so, too, are we. Not only is she a part of our culture and not only did our culture build her but she isn't reacting any differently than most of us would in her situation. She is acting out of the self preservation of ego. Granted, she probably has an ego more expansive than any of us could ever know but I imagine we all have the potential. We all have the potential to not own up to our actions and the consequences of those actions. We all have the potential to rally around our loved ones and tell them they are in the 'right' when all signs we are blind to point to the fact that they could not have been more in the 'wrong.'
Very, very little is mentioned about what landed Paris in this predicament in the first place: drunk driving. Not to be a hypocrite, as I've been behind the wheel in the past when I definitely should not have been, but that should be the real meat of the issue here. Driving under the influence is indefensible. Sure, she might kill herself…and I wouldn't have sympathy for that just like I didn't when I found out Josh Hancock was under the influence when he killed himself. Hell, many people watched the House of Wax remake just to see Paris die. But, what if she were to kill someone else? What if her actions had consequences for someone's life other than her own? Would that actually cause her to look at herself and reconsider her actions? Who fucking knows.
Who fucking knows what makes any of us take a long hard look at ourselves and own up to the shit we do that simply isn't right.
Even more disheartening…what about the times when we are absolutely convinced what we are doing is right and for the good of some or all? What about people like Bill O'Reilly, George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Osama, etc. They all believe they are right as they advocate for what they believe. Further, they are fully self righteous in their beliefs, as are we all.
Is it possible to be an advocate without being self righteous?
Is it possible to not only look away from Paris Hilton but to not be Paris ourselves?
If Paris is burning, so is France. We can't afford denial. We can't reward the princess for acting like a princess and then celebrate when the princess suffers because we want to see her in pain for being a princess in the first place. If we can't look away from Paris, and all the people like her we've propped up, then we have to at least be able to see the parts of ourselves that are reflected in them.
Who of us would not want to scream and cry for our freedom, our comfortable lives, our mothers…even if our own actions took those things away from us?
