Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Gossip Girl Anonymous

So back when I started blogging I considered talking about celebrity kindnesses but I got stuck on whether or not that would be an invasion of privacy in the way that really nasty gossip is.  Besides, Enty over at Crazy Days And Nights has kindnesses covered really well.  I have some favorite stories, though, so I go back and forth about it.  For example there was the time that Evan Dando from the Lemonheads heard that a fan didn't have a date for her senior prom so he took her himself.  How cool is that?  And the time that Keifer Sutherland was driving down the street and stopped to help a woman who looked like she was getting a beat down (as it turned out it was a movie), which is not just cool but also certifiably badass.  What do you think?  Is it an invasion of privacy?

The reason I ask this is that I ran across a piece over at CDAN about someone who's been in addiction recovery and is now running an online recovery support group and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  Not the action of the actor but that it's a blind item.  The recovery program isn't specified but is likely to be one of the A's and the A there stands for Anonymous for a reason.  People are free to speak in meetings because there's no fear of what they say leaving the group.  But I've seen paparazzi photos of Lindsay Lohan leaving a meeting and the people leaving behind her are in no way blurred or blacked out which kind of violates the whole Anonymous thing but then again they're on a public sidewalk.  Put yourself in her shoes for a second, though, an imagine how you'd have to steel yourself to face that right after you've tried to speak your truth. 

Anyway, I'm still debating.  What do you all think?  Can't remember the Lemonheads?  This is them.  Have a great Tuesday!

4 comments:

  1. It's my opinion that acts of kindness can spread if they're advertised. Setting a good example is a great way to have good deeds paid forward. In the case of a recovering addict running a support group, then yes, that's a bit trickier. However, it's possible to be interested in a cause without being a former addict/patient/victim, etc. :) So by saying someone runs a recovery center does not necessarily mean that that person is in recovery himself.

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  2. The issue is exposing the other recovering addicts, no, not per se the recovering celebrity addict?

    I have to say I love reading these stories. Actually I love reading about any kind of act of kindness, but in the case of celebrities it makes up on some level for all the terrible things I read about them.

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  3. Acts of kindness I think I agree on, especially public ones like Dando and Sutherland above. Recovery is different, though, and giving back to your community in whatever way you can is expected. I'm still thinking about it.

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  4. Hi Jazzy,
    A thoughtful question. Hmmm. I guess I would err on the side of caution. If the celebrity or individual themself speaks of their personal situation or their interest in an issue in public and to the media, then they choose to share it. Until then, I would grant them their privacy--in case they are working through an issue themselves or with a loved and they need the space to deal with it.
    Cheers! Grati ;->

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Thanks for commenting!