My own B.I. Biz-ness

Perhaps I'm getting older - scratch that, I know I'm getting older - but perhaps it's because I'm gaining experience that I see and hear things in a different light than I used to, and in a different light than my younger (less experienced) peers hear them.

 

Take, for instance, the sad and curious state of affairs with Manti T'eo.  The story broke to nationwide curiosity, and I understood that.  What I failed to understand was the continued pursuit of the story to the extent that he wound up discussing his problems on the TV with Dr. Phil.

Jim Nabors has finally married his partner of 34 years and it's national news.  Emmylou Harris was caught drunk-driving and even though there were no injuries, the story made the newspaper.  Dan Marino had a child out of wedlock - in 2005.

 

All of those things made some form of a stir on the Internet or your local newspaper, or both.  The point here is that all of them are private concerns of the people involved and as such, are none of our business.  It's hard enough to get our own friends and relatives to confess to improprieties, but we seem to be able to wrangle personal confessions out of celebrities.

What is even more fascinating is our endless desire for dirt on celebrities.  I guess it's because we want to think that they aren't any better than we, even though they earn a million times what we earn and have the world at their fingertips.  The fact is, they drive drunk, have babies and make stupid mistakes just like the rest of us.  The difference is, if the clerk at your local convenience store has a child without a husband, it doesn't make the newspaper.  It's only news if the person's name can be listed in bold typeface.

 

The thing we need to ask ourselves (or, you need to ask yourself, since I've already asked myself) is, "Why am I so fascinated by things that do not affect my life?"  If your favorite TV star gets caught masturbating in public, why do you care?  It wasn't in your public.

 

I've grown tired of reading about the personal issues of people that I do not know personally.  Because they are celebrities does not automatically make me interested in their sexual preference or their dalliances.

 

Which brings up another issue:  Why do we care so much whether someone is gay or straight?  Perhaps I'll get to that tomorrow.