Just because a person is placed in a spotlight, that does not make them any less human. A tabloid doesn’t diminish feelings of embarrassment. Being surrounded by paparazzi doesn’t mean you never crave personal space. Having a reality show doesn’t mean you have a perfect life.
What does it mean to be human, anyway? To be is to feel. We laugh, we cry, we love, we lose, we hurt, we rejoice. Celebrities feel, too. They laugh, cry, love, lose, hurt, and rejoice as well. Maybe they do so on different levels and in different settings than us, but does that make them any less human? Does that make them any less deserving of our respect and tenderness?
Being caring and understanding toward your neighbor, but bitter and cold toward the person on your television screen is contradicting and illogical. Kim Kardashian recently spoke out on her robbery in Paris, and it served as a slap in the face to those who viewed her as untouchable and humorous.
On her episode of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Kim recalled, “The guy came in, grabbed the phone from me, threw me on the bed and I was like, ‘This is it.'” When I decided to tune into “KUWTK” on this night, I was not expecting to be so shaken. Society is used to this family being taken as a joke, as if they are fictional characters instead of real people just like you and me. Kim went on to tell the story of how she had more than $10 million worth of jewelry stolen from her and thought for sure she was going to lose her life as her ankles were tied together with rope. She pleaded to the masked men to spare her life because she has kids and a husband at home.
Kim Kardashian may look like a superficial plastic doll in a fictional, far away universe from you. It is understandable why this line of thought follows this family around, and I am more than sure they understand it as well. Although, when Kim told her story about coming close to death, she wasn’t a fictional creature. In that episode, Kim was a daughter, a mother, a wife and a scared woman.
The backlash on social media Kim has gotten with comments about her robbery being a publicity stunt are truly pathetic. When this robbery occurred, Kim was already famous. What was expected other than for her to speak about it publicly? Her entire life has been public and under a spotlight since childhood, it is inevitable this horrifying event became public as well.
Regardless of your opinion on certain celebrities, they are human. They feel. They feel fear, they feel pain, they feel embarrassment. Having money and luxurious clothes and cars doesn’t change this. Imagine you were cornered and attacked by strangers in a hotel room and threatened at gun point while masked men robbed you. Would your money and expensive products make you feel better? Would clutching your designer clothes make it all okay?
Even celebrities at such a status as a Kardashian are really just human at the core. Be a human back to them. Being a good person with sympathy and understanding toward others involves celebrities, too.