People...
Went to the premiere of a new show opening in Vegas last night. We walked in early and took our seats - right next to the sound guy. "Awesome" I thought.
Right on the other side of the console was the producer of the show, René Angelil (the man behind Celine Dion for those blessed enough to be unaware of that stuff).
Soon enough, people started to walk in, an many noticed that the famous manager was in the room and before you know it, there was one heck of a line up - mostly ladies in their 40-50s - waiting to get their picture taken w/ the man.
The way some of those people acted just made me feel ashamed to be part of the human race - they walked right into his bubble, grabbed him by the arm to get his attention while he was patiently talking to another bunch 50 years old "groupies". Some looked like they were about to pee on the floor. At one point, his assistant announced that this was to be the last photo. A few folks didn't let that discourage them, they walked all the way down to the back of the room and came back from behind for a chance to have their picture taken. And when they finally walked back to their seat, they'd constantly turn their head and stare at him.
I was looking at the line up thinking: is it so important for you guys to get your picture taken w/ a celebrity that you don't realize that there's 30 people in front of you and the man has been standing up there shaking hands and smiling for 20 minutes already? Don't you feel that maybe you could do the grown up thing and, you know, back off? I'm sure he won't lose sleep even if you don't get to tell him that you have all of Celine's records and that you've been listening since 1984.
I just don't get it, seriously. I never could and never did treat someone differently just because they're a celebrity. I have too much respect for others - not to mention self-respect - for that. Respect people, not titles.
I've seen people throw away all dignity and introduce themselves to me back in the days, though on a much much smaller scale. It happens frequently w/ my wife and her fans and/or Cirque fans, as it does with some of our well-known friends. It's sometimes amusing, often embarrassing, though most of the time, it's "in context" - after a show, red carpet events, or such. It's not an intrusion. But it gets old fast.
Do we ever reach a stage where we no longer feel embarrassed for people, in their place?
I mean, I shouldn't feel embarrassed. I should feel contempt.
Anyone who thinks that it's worth harassing someone and breaking into his bubble just so they too can tell him something trivial about their unimportant self - I bought all your wife's records - has to suffer from a serious lack of empathy.
I think that that's it. Maybe that's what bugged me so much. The lack of empathy. It bugs me 10 times as much because I often consider myself to be insensitive, I often think that I lack empathy - compared to people who preach equality and love and understanding, anyway. I value intellectual rigor. I'm definitely more Spock than Kirk.
But at the end of the day, I'm the one who acts all love and understanding-y no matter what I preach while the rest of them act like a bunch of self-centered immature dimwits.
I had to write this novel to understand why it bugged me.
TCB - Tea, Cats, Books...