BRITNEY ERRED AND SO DID WE

I didn’t see the Britney Spears VMA debacle the night it happened, but heard about it from a friend. I immediately went online to find the much talked about performance, only to discover that Viacom had unleashed legal hounds on sites like You Tube, to cease the viral spread of the video.

I just hope after all the suppression; a Viacom representative grabbed the girl by the shoulders, shook her hard and told her to shape up or ship out.

Anywayz, I finally managed to find an untampered with version of the video on yahoo, but as my husband and I watched it, we had to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Now, I will agree whole-heartedly on the idea that she gave an astoundingly horrible performance. I mean, even though I was never a big fan, I thought she was a talented little performer.

Where I disagreed was here —Britney Spears was not fat. I mean damn, if the girl was a size eight, I’d be surprised – women are killing themselves all over America to be at the very least a size ten.

Where once she was a near emaciated bean pole (in my opinion too thin, and thereby, decidedly unfeminine) she was now alluringly curvaceous. I mean, she gained a little weight, having a couple of kids will do that to yah, but she wasn’t a cow. I fear the message we are sending by concentrating so much on the girls post pregnancy weight instead of her laughable performance, is that any woman who doesn’t kill herself to look like a twig after having two kids is worthy of contempt.

I feel sorry for women with c-sections, who may literally do physical damage to themselves by trying to hit a gym with her suckling newborn hanging off their teat.

I mean, come on—while Hollywood would shun her, the average man would have been more than little appreciative of those curves, hell, I know quite a few dudes who would kill to have a gal who looked half as good …

In other words—Britney looked like the average woman, and by giving her so much grief, we are saying that average American woman is unattractive and worthy of ridicule for not being a size three.

It has been said and I will say it again—the music business is tough. Outsiders see only the glitz and glamour, they don’t understand that while many aspects of the job are fun, even dazzling, that the majority of the time it is work—hard work.

What the people who watch shows like MTV’s cribs don’t know about are the literal years of sweat, blood and tears that goes into pursuing and later attaining and maintaining a music career.

They don’t see the blisters that form on the feet from hours of dancing, or how fingers bleed before they develop calluses as you learn to play guitar, or know about purchasing expensive ass equipment you can barely afford, only to carry said heavy ass equipment back and forth to play dives that think they are doing you a favor and don’t want to pay you for your art. They don’t understand the sleep deprivation that can occur from working 48 hours without rest, as you travel from one show to another trying to keep up with an absolutely grueling schedule, not to mention that despite all the bling, the record company is reaping 90 percent of the financial reward for an artists work, while the artisttake the brunt of public scrutiny and or ridicule.

Oh yeah—and that house on cribs—probably owned by the record company, which would be ripped right out from under you if your next album fails to go platinum.

We wonder how musicians go from rags to riches—that’s how. They are pimped out, raped, held out as bejeweled show ponies, then kicked out when they become too old and ugly for the johns to purchase any more to be laughed at and scorned.

And think of this—even with all the crap that happens behind the scenes, I chose this career—I chose it because I live it, breathe it and love it. I understand the ramifications of my choices. Every good thing has its price. If you can accept the cost then you can’t bitch—I was also an adult when I made that choice.

Britney wasn’t.

What kind of reality does a person have when they have spent their entire life in the public eye? I mean, if I made a mistake only my friends and family knew. These kids made mistakes, and the whole world knew—and they are usually bar-be-qued for it, as if the people pointing fingers themselves had never made such youthful transgressions.

Most of us are adults before we encounter corporate greed and the manipulation of others for financial gain. Britney was six. All she and kids like her know is fakery, and slight of hand. Children, who had protective caring parents, or the inner fortitude, have been able to cull good experiences from a showbiz childhood, but the cliché of the fallen child star is a cliché for a reason. Sadly, because people wrongly believe that these kids are reaping huge monetary benefits, they shove their emotional needs in the backburner tossing any protests, fears or concerns into the “ whining pampered star” pile.

Our stars issues are, in some way, a reflection of our hypocritical, jealous and back biting natures. We demand perfection from our stars when we ourselves are far from it. I have one child, and it has taken me a year to whittle down.

Yet we want celebrities to be the epitome of the human ideal and then poke fun when they run to get nips and tucks to keep their status within a world that chews you up and spits you like gum that lost it’s flavor—but if that is the only world you know—how can you understand that there is something different?

We cackle, “Oh how the mighty have fallen” with an evil glee, just because someone we wanted to be has fallen off the throne. It’s kind of like one of Noah’s son’s laughing at the mans drunken nakedness, as opposed to covering his father up.

Maybe Britney is just – tired.

Perhaps she has gotten to a place where the individuals she once perceived as angels have become devils, and she is in a place of confusion, anger and fear. If so, is actually a good place for her to be. Such things are the catalyst of change. Maybe at the end of her trials, she’ll come out on top and be able to spit in the face of people who wanted to kick her when she was down.

Now, don’t take this as a tearful “leave Britney alone” treatise. I make fun of the girl all the time. Why? Because I do believe that, while she is troubled, she is at an age where she should be evaluating her life and trying to understand why she feels so empty despite having essentially good things, like beautiful children and a thriving career.

I just pray that the little one will wise up, and soon, before her kids are minus a mother and the world, minus a once brilliant light.

Posted by: Alicia - Inzino Staff