Friday, September 14, 2007

Why do people care?

This morning, before classes started at W.H.S., a good friend of mine asked me to post about Britney Spears...and I flatly denied the request. Over here, I try to post stories that matter to me, stories others ought to know. However, I later said to myself...

Self, aren't journalists supposed to write about stories people are interested in? Like it or not, a lot of people are talking about Britney Spears. Maybe you should post about it after all.

Well, you're reading the post now. Savor it.
Anyway, in case you haven't heard, Britney Spears performed (and by "performed", I mean, "lip-synched") a new song, "Gimme More" at the V.M.A.s. She wore nothing but lingerie, and her mouthing was terribly off. MTV cut to various celebrities in the audience, who didn't offer support. Soon after performance's end, Sarah Silverman said...
...she is 25 years old, and she has already accomplished everything she’s going to accomplish in her life.
THIS is the top story of the week? Once I heard about this, I felt glad that I didn't waste two hours of my life by watching another pointless award show, and glad that I kept myself busy by reading and posting about stories that I think are important. Did you know that the United Nations and African Union are progressing towards stopping the violent Darfur conflict? Did you know that the Israelis and Palestinians are progressing towards peace? These are more important than a Britney Spears performance...right?
I wonder why so many people seem to worship celebrities. Perhaps it's a desperate attempt to distract themselves from bigger things going on in the world. Like it or not, bad things are happening. In Darfur, innocent people are raped, killed, and run out of their homes every day. In Israel, two religions are fighting a turf war. Americans are dying every day in Iraq. Who wants to talk about these terrible things? Let's talk about a two-minute video of a pop star cavorting in her underwear!

Listen, if you want to read about and talk about people like Britney Spears, go ahead. I would just like to make it clear that I couldn't care less how bad her performance was. Don't expect the latest celebrity news and gossip with each Étudiant update. I'd much rather spread real news, thank you very much.

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