Remembering Princess Diana and those who Murdered her

Wow! Its been 12 years since the death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997. Can you believe how fast time flies? It seems like yesterday I was waking up to read the morning news to find her death sprawled all over the front page. As I was always a fan, I was saddened by this. A woman who had selflessly given herself to help others in time of need. She did a lot for humanity and I certainly miss her presence here on earth.

As I think of Princess Diana’s death, I think of those left behind. Family who loved her dearly like her two sons Prince William and Prince Harry. They were so young when this tragedy occurred. Fortunately, they still had their father but nobody can take the place of a mother. It saddens me that she would never see them finish school and grow up into young men, marry and have their own children. She was entitled to this and was denied it. You see, her death did not have to occur. She could have grown into middle age, continued her work helping others around the world and watch her sons grow into men. At the time of her death, she and her companion Dodi Al-Fayed may have had a chance to see more of one another and could have married at some point. However, these are things we will never know.

While many will say or have their theories on her death, I believe the paparazzi murdered her. For years, they just could not leave her alone or let her be. Anywhere she would go, they would be not far behind. Pictures among pictures appeared in tabloids around the world of her and those close to her. Rumors and lies were printed as well. People just could not get enough of her. At the same time, Diana just wanted to live a decent life. I am sure she understood she was a public figure, however, was it such a crime if she wanted privacy to spend time with her family and friends? You see, she did not have that luxury because the paparazzi just would not allow it. On the night she and Dodi were killed, the paparazzi were everywhere. They followed every move that was made by the couple and it got to be such a pain that they had to sneak out of the building to avoid them. However, the paparazzi were one step ahead of her. They managed to follow her in her car which contained herself and three other men. The car was speeding quickly to avoid these bullies and managed to smash right into a concrete wall in a tunnel. Three of the four in the car were killed. If the paparazzi had left her alone, none of this would have happened and she still would have been with us today more than likely.

These paparazzi are stalkers, bullies and are dangerous. What they report is not news but vicious lies and they look to take pictures of celebrities at the worst possible time for a lot of money. They violate all possible laws within the community and are a hazard to everyone around them. Most importantly, they act without conscience and nobody seems to stop their dangerous behavior. Yet we continue to feed them by purchasing tabloids and other things. Since when is it news when Tyra Banks buys a banana in Ralph’s Grocery Store? Or when Zac Efron goes to the beach? Like me, you are probably thinking this is not news and its not. This is an invasion of privacy, infringement of constitutional rights and that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that is promised to all of us in this nation. Some think that because they are celebrities, they owe us in this respect and should get over it and allow people to treat them this way. Folks, this is no way to live for anyone. Not being able to throw away a phone number written down because someone may go through their trash and sell it on eBay? These everyday occurrences in life are something we take for granted yet something they do not have. Think of that next time you believe you are entitled to know these things.

Please, visit the Paparazzi Reform Initiative (http://www.paparazzi-reform.org) to see how you can learn about the realities of these situations. These celebs should be able to go to Ralph’s, the beach or anywhere without the paparazzi on their tail. This is a form of Peer Abuse, stalking, violation of constitutional rights as well as human rights. After all, we would probably still have Princess Diana along with Dodi Al -Fayed today if they had just let her live in peace. Something to think about…..

Celebs are Bullied Too!

Another week and another Google Alert. I opened one recently that talked about celebrities who were bullied growing up. Also, saw information on the recent book written by Miley Cyrus entitled Miles to Go where bullies locked her in a bathroom for over an hour and she thought nobody would ever come and save her. Jessica Simpson mentioned having eggs thrown at her house and toilet papered. Others like Tom Cruise and Taylor Swift also shared memories of being at the hands of these little criminals in training during childhood. Fame has entered their lives and sadly, I do not believe any bullying has stopped. Its grown worse if you ask me.

The lives of celebrities are under a microscope. The public cannot get enough of them. Fans sometimes do not know when to leave them alone. Society has taught us to worship these people and as a result, we expect them to always be nice, giving and live up to the pedestals we put them on. If they have a bad day, forget to sign an autograph or walk out of the house with a shirt that does not settle with fans or others, they are sure to see it plastered all over the internet and be one of the top searches in a search engine. I live in Los Angeles and I have seen the paparazzi chase these people with cameras and cars. There is no privacy in their lives and that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness goes out the window. The public believes that since they are who they are, they must share every aspect of their lives with the rest of us. In other words, we expect them to live as they do because of who they are.

I have to just say it and that is celebrities live their lives being bullied. They are stalked, harassed, slandered, pressured by their peers and are expected to live perfect lives. One step over the line and they are crucified. They have no rights and cannot even throw out the trash without people going through it. Society feels that not only are they expected to be perfect but when they do fail or something bad happens, everyone cannot wait to get their hands on the magazines, tabloids and other fodder. If you ask me, it’s a wonder they can keep their sanity as living under a microscope can be really hard. Sure, they have money but is it really worth all of this? Humans are not wired to exist like this and no wonder many spiral out of control.

Celebrities are people like the rest of us. It just happens that their work is in the public eye whether it be television or radio. In a lot of ways they are like the rest of us. Some have families to support with children to raise. Others use that money to pay the high taxes they accumulate. Some are not even asked to be celebrities as they are born into this lifestyle. Most importantly, they are not superhuman and are fallible like the rest of us. Celebrity Worship Syndrome is a serious problem and we need to stop bullying them and allow them to live that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness like the rest of us. Put yourselves in their shoes for a minute. How would you feel if you had to leave your home incognito everyday? Getting daily threats in the mail and having to protect your children from kidnapping possibilities? Watch everything you do in public or always running away from paparazzi? You could not even drive to Burger King for a Whopper without someone finding out! Have your friends sell you out for money or you get blackmailed? Something to certainly think about in all of this. Is it really necessary? Can’t we just let them live and let live?

Stop the Celebrity Imposters!

In the aftermath of the Lori Drew trial, I have been reading bits and pieces online as time has permitted. This trial made me think of a few things over the past several days about internet safety, the realities of social sites and other odds and ends pertaining to the internet. I stumbled across this well written blog in the LA Times where the reader is asked to ponder whether or not social sites need to get serious about cyber bullying, online pranks and other debauchery that we see when we go to places such as My Space, Facebook, Twitter and others out there.

Currently, I have an account on these main social sites but the primary reason has to do with business and networking. I also add my family and friends and have reconnected with people I either worked with or went to school with in the past. Plus, you can keep everyone abreast of the latest happenings all at once rather than bit by bit through email or the phone. There are some great advantages to having accounts on these sites. However, in my own experience not only on social sites but on the internet as a whole, there is a very dark side to the dangers that can occur. Predators can be found lurking these sites for their next young prey. People are looking for love and in all of the wrong places. One very scary and overlooked problem is not only with setting up fake profiles as Lori Drew did but setting up profiles pretending to be celebrities. Fans join and see their favorite celebrity on there and will send them an add request asking to be friends. The celebrity will accept and this person is so excited! Not only that but the celebrity is actually sending them messages and leaving comments on their pages and turns out some mentally ill adult, predator or a kid is behind the screen fooling everyone. This does occur because on My Space, some friends and I took the initiative to catch these bogus profiles and report them to My Space a year ago. However, My Space asked us not to do this any further and they created their own celebrity avenue on there. Yet the fake profile and poser issue still exists. This can be very traumatic to the person who thinks they are writing their favorite celebrity only to find out that it was not that person after all.

We need to get tougher on these social sites. Facebook will delete bogus profiles and I commend them. All this problem does is add to the cyber bullying problem and feed into the predator and stalking that occurs. The psychology of the victim is traumatic. They feel violated and like they have been stabbed in the back. This can create trust issues and other psychological problems down the line. Plus, it is a very real problem that exists. I helped to catch two posers of celebrities away from social sites and the rest on social sites. Many consider this a joke but it is no laughing matter. I have defined this as a form of cyber bullying in my book with hope that people become aware of this. They say that they do not tolerate any cyber bullying on their sites? This is a form of cyber bullying so why do they tolerate this? Folks, get educated! Take this seriously! Pretending to be someone online is identity theft and is wrong. Do not enable this; ban these cyber bullies from your site! Keep things clean and safe for everyone. Do what you can to stop these online posers, I know I did.

Resource cited:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/11/in-the-wake-of.html

Elizabeth Bennett is the author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From a Psychological Perspective and resides in Los Angeles, California. To learn more, visit http://www.peerabuse.info .

Can't take the heat? Then stay out of the kitchen!

There are times when I actually have time on my hands to surf around on the internet and just read blogs or message boards. One place I have gone before is the Perez Hilton blog. This is one that shows pictures of celebrities at their worst and pokes fun at their misfortunes in life. I may see a photo of one supposedly leaving rehab and on the picture, white dots are drawn dribbling down the nose of the celebrity at hand indicating cocaine use. Or, I may see another picture where he has written “no talent” on the picture. Plus, I wonder how much of what he is reporting is truth or word on the street so to speak.

I do not know Perez Hilton as a person and have never met him. I am not trying to judge him or slander him. However, I do have an opinion of his blog. I think that he is verbally abusive to celebrities and believe maybe 1/8 of what he reports. Like any other tabloid out there, I feel he is just enjoying his fame by kicking others when they are down. Folks, once again, this is a form of bullying and Peer Abuse. Slander, the pictures, making fun of someone else and their problems. Where is the compassion? The support?

Recently, two ladies have created a blog entitled Perez Revenge where they are standing up to Perez and reporting facts about celebrities and not kicking them when they are down so to speak. As a result, Perez has gone the legal route and seeking damages in this. Why is it okay for Perez to slander celebrities but when the shoe is on the other foot, he seeks legal help? True, his home address did not need to be placed on the internet, however, that is not the issue at hand. The issue at hand is that these ladies are standing up to what I see is a bully and when someone does the same thing that he has done to many others, he reacts in typical abusive and bullying behavior; he reacts and threatens. A bully does not like for people to give them a dose of their own medicine. They get angry and react every time.

I wish these ladies well and commend them for their efforts. It is hard to bring down a bully and in my opinion, Perez comes across as a bully. If he cannot take the heat, he needs to stay out of the kitchen. What comes around goes around and Perez deserves what he is getting as far as I am concerned. Now he sees how it feels to be lied about, slandered and made fun of when the chips are down and he does not like it at all. Hopefully, he will change and for the better.


Elizabeth Bennett is the author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From A Psychological Perspective and resides in Los Angeles, California. To learn more, visit http://www.peerabuse.info