Wow

People can be awful, privacy ignoring harpies. 

I don't know. Just. Having been someone who was relatively in the public eye for part of her teenage years, what people feel willing to say about celebrities on the internet continues to shock and appall me. 

Like, some pretty horrible stuff was said about me back in the day. And of course I didn't take any of it personally, I couldn't. You had to just laugh it off. But my little brush with fame is NOTHING compared to what actual proper celebrities have to deal with. Even when they're beloved by fans! There's just this ravenous need for information about their personal lives. And then, when those private things come out, everyone feels like they have this authority to judge. And I understand that impulse, but that's exactly what it should stay: an impulse. That isn't a whim to be acted upon.

I don't know. People are just cruel. And when they aren't cruel they're intrusive. And when they aren't intrusive hopefully they're respectful. And I know I haven't always been a super respectful person. I've been that uncomfortably obsessed person before. I still obsess about things but I try to keep my private thoughts about the obsession, well... private. I feel bad when I objectify someone, regardless of whether they're in the public eye or not.

Similarly I have said rude things about people in the spotlight and felt like a horrible person for days afterward. I have no qualms about saying someone is attractive or paying them a compliment on their craft. Additionally I have no qualms about critiquing the performance of an entertainer. Because that's their job and I don't feel as if I'm over stepping by assessing their workmanship. But there's a point when critique becomes hatred and when compliment becomes offensive.

I also completely understand having objectifying or "inappropriate" thoughts and opinions about others. I have them too. But I don't put them in writing and post them on the internet for people to see. I've even gone back to old forums I used to haunt when I was younger and deleted posts I felt like I shouldn't have made. I don't see anything wrong with a healthy admiration of someone. (healthy being the operative word here.) I don't see anything wrong with fantasy. And I would never judge someone based on their explicit adoration of a celebrity, but I can't deny that it sometimes makes me uncomfortable. 

I don't know what I'm getting at anymore.

I think it's that...

There's a fine line between flattering and overstepping. And you know what, in the comfort of your home, or in the company of friends, you say and do whatever the hell you want. If you want to go on about what you would do to Andrew Garfield if he were in the room, you make that pretend sexual advance! I just think that people need to be more careful about what they're willing to share for all the world to see. Because the internet isn't as big a place as we think it is sometimes and you never know who's gonna stumble onto what. And I guess, it's the same as being a celebrity. 

When you put yourself in the public eye you have to be aware of and accept the consequences. 

Similarly, when you write something on a public blog or forum, you have to be prepared for anyone to see it and you have to be prepared for what said person might think or do because of it. 

In fact, I'm thinking about not publishing this right now because I don't want to deal with any backlash, but this also something I feel strongly about. I don't believe in censorship. You should be allowed to say whatever the fuck you want, but think first. Just, think for a moment. I'm sure there are things I've said on this blog that I'm not proud of. In fact I know there are things in my archive I'm not proud of. 

Just. I don't know. I don't want to be preachy. I just...

Respect. Respect is important. 

Aretha Franklin knew it. 

And I do too. Just.

I don't know. Let's just all respect each other as human beings? CAN'T WE ALL JUST EAT CAKES AND RAINBOWS AND BE HAPPY?

And now I've gone on for far too long about this. 

OI

-Tori