» Britney, oh Britney …

Yes, I’m doing what everyone else is, and blogging about Britney Spears.

Actually, it’s about an article on CNN’s In Session blog. In it, Bog Regan tells us about plans in California to create a new law restricting the paparazzi, and mentions “Britney’s Law”.

Now, whether or not the law is actually called “Britney’s Law” isn’t nearly as important as what the law does. It’s another attempt to rein in the outrageous and provocative behavior of these … “people”.

What irks me is the number of commenters on that blog who say that celebrities somehow surrender their rights by becoming celebrities. This doesn’t make any sense, there is no way anyone surrenders their rights, to expectations of privacy.

Celebrities do not become public property, and they have the same rights everyone else has.

There does need to be a law curtailing the paparazzi, to protect everyone, celebrities or not. Britney might have gone off the rails, but I think it’s a safe bet that the constant stalking and harassment of these vultures has contributed to, if not outright caused, the girl to lose it. The paparazzi have a vested interest in celebrities getting “out of hand”, and often incite matters to create those situations - that way, they’re right there, with almost-exclusive pictures.

They are truly a danger to both the celebrities they stalk, and hapless uninvolved people who happen to be in the vicinity. They refuse to behave like human beings, so they should have laws put in place and be heavily censured for breaking those laws (as well as existing ones aimed at stopping their rampage in search of the “money shot”) . It’s a certainty that the paparazzi’s behavior was a heavily contributory factor in the death of Princess Diana, yet they continue trying to generate the same tragic situation.

Is it any wonder Britney Spears is having mental health issues, given the way she has been driven to them? If I had a horde of people following me around all the time, poking their lenses into every facet of my life down to what brand of toilet paper I buy, I’d probably be on drugs and have a nervous breakdown too!

What is also needed is for those publications that feed the paparazzi’s hunger for juicy images to stop buying them, even if it means they too are fined or legally censured for using pictures taken in such circumstances. Many “respectable” media outlets have a code of practice that means such pictures are declined for purchase, those less-honorable publications who accept these kinds of pictures should be hammered until they behave in a civilized manner.

Last but not least, the consumers of such publications need to stop hoping to feel better about their own miserable lives by salivating over pictures and stories about the foibles of the “rich and shameless”. Get a bloody life!

Tags: bob regan, britney, california, cnn, in session, paparazzi, spears, stalkers, stalking, tabloids