We often have celebrities or at least semi-famous people announcing their whatevers. They tell us they're gay, they're +, they're trans, they're this, they're that, etc... Why am I conflicted?
When these shining star types announce something like this it acts like a lightning rod on these hot-button topics. Oh, Mr/Miss Jenner is trans & transitioning. Oh this singer is gay or that poet is +. I get what's going on. They've made themselves a poster child for their whatever. But why? Have they actually done it to help awareness? Have they done it to boost they're image & ratings? Is it both or something else? Does it matter?
I think what matters more, is why do everyday people even care? I get it if you personally are part of this celebrity's whatever. If you're gay, + or whatever, it might help having someone out there you know is going through the same thing as you. I get that. But those famous people aren't going through the same thing as you. They really aren't.
I follow a Facebook page dedicated to Lyme. Its a very difficult disease to treat since most doctors don't want to recognize Chronic Lyme & insurers won't cover it. Most people who develop Chronic Lyme have to go without treatment. They can't travel the literal thousands of miles it may take to find a doctor willing to risk treating them. They can't afford the tens of thousands of dollars treatment will cost. So they suffer.
That isn't the case for rich/famous folks. The Lyme page showed a month's worth of meds for Avril Lavigne who suffers from the ailment. It an amazing amount of drugs covering half a dining room table. But she can afford to travel to these places & get those treatments. Am I condemning her? Not at all, she's got to do what she can for herself. But, that proves when the rich & famous have a condition, its nothing like when a poor, unknown has it.
Most people really don't care about anything that isn't present in their lives. Maybe they just don't have the motivation, information or the energy. A lot of people act removed from everyday issues of other people until they come closer to home. Oh, I got into Cancer runs because my mother had cancer. I got active in crisis line after I knew someone who _____. I finally got tested for HIV after someone I met told me they were +.
It doesn't always take a direct exposure to motivate us. Some people feel prompted to act when a celebrity they follow admits their whatever. Brenner & Cox are pushing trans issues into the lime light. At least annually some artist announces their HIV status. We find out some tragic story behind an actor. Then we're amped & ready to do something, for at least the next week or so.
Why is it we can feel this pseudo-empathy for people we don't even know, but can't feel anything about those suffering in our own backyards? What of the homeless you see everyday? What of the abandoned animals? What of the elderly with no one to help? Where's all that F'ing empathy then!?
I get that these people coming forward with their fame can promote awareness. I do. But all that does is tell the rest of us what you really think. Maybe if we'd been rich or famous, we could've gotten better treatment. Maybe someone would've gave a damn. I know, nothing new there. Time to face it people, you don't really care, you're just following whatever's trending.
None of this is ever going to change. Not until people can care about a subject they have no direct interaction with in their lives. It doesn't matter if its abuse, disease, addiction, discrimination or whatever. Until we can find it in ourselves to care for those we can't directly relate to, then this lack of empathy will continue. I don't have high hopes for us.
Not saying I'm any better. But, this is why I'm conflicted about celebrities announcing their whatevers. I wish these people well with their issues. But what about everyone whose stories we'll never hear. Are they less important, because they weren't known by more people?
Cya...
