I know, not exactly a novel finding. But I somehow continue to be amazed at the level of utter stupidity displayed by some of those in the public eye. Now, admittedly, I'm not much of a celebrity-watcher. I don't care much who they're sleeping with, what drugs they're on, or how much their new mansion cost. But some things you can't help but notice, since they're discussed on every freakin' news show in the universe. Like this one:
That's pop princess Britney Spears, for anyone who hasn't yet see that pic (and if such a person exists, can you tell me where I can find this haven from celebrity-gawking?) Apparently, her excuse is that she was being chased by the paparazzi. According to a BBC article:
"I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm's way, but the paparazzi continued to stalk us," the chart-topping singer said.
"I love my child and would do anything to protect him."
You. Are. A. Moron. You don't protect him by hopping in your car (without a seatbelt on yourself) and driving away with him on your lap, while apparently being chased by paparazzi. Vehicle injury is the number one cause of deaths for kids ages 14 and younger, but this risk can be decreased by having the child properly restrained in a car seat. A four-month-old should be in a seat in the rear of the car, facing backwards and properly secured.
I don't care that you're rich and famous. Jesus H Christ, learn to deal with your kid while you're driving. You had a passenger; there's no reason he couldn't have taken the kid, leaned over the backseat, put him in his carseat, and buckled him in while you were starting the car and buckling your own damn self in.
"I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger," Spears, 24, said in a statement released late Monday.
All the more reason to have him in the safest place he could be in a car--in his damn carseat. Say they were aggressive. Say they'd led you on a speedy chase around LA. Say they caused you to get into an accident with that baby on your lap--smacking him against the steering wheel (or injuring him--or worse--if the airbag deployed). A lot of bad things could have happened. Laws regarding car seat use weren't imposed just to sell car seats. They were put in place because they save lives.
You got lucky. You and the baby were OK, and the worst you got is some bad press and people questioning your mothering ability. And certainly, ain't none of us who are perfect parents. But crimeny, don't excuse your behavior. Admit you messed up, you put your kid in danger, and don't do it again. It's part of that whole adult thing you're apparently trying so hard to do.
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On those rare occasions I switch on the TV, it automatically starts on C-span. Thus, this is the first time I saw the picture or heard the story. A self-imposed haven, I guess.
I have not seen this picture, nor does it surprise me much. The woman of her own free will married Kevin Federline for gosh sakes...so her judgement right there has to be severely impaired.
I can't tell from the picture. Please tell me there actually was a baby seat in that car.
When I was 5yo (1968), we got into a car accident going at less than 20mph. I was sitting in the passanger seat (back then, not even seat belt) when my uncle crashed into the car in front of us. I remember bouncing off the dashboard and craddleing on the floor. All I could think that it was great; the acceleration sensation was intoxicating.
On the other hand, my mom had my uncle in the dog house for years.
coturnix, C-span inevitably ticks me off. Bad for my blood pressure. :)
Dave, good question. I assume so, but I don't know if there were any pics of the backseat. She can't be *that* dumb...right?
I've given up television completely, excluding the occasional half-hour of Noggin in the AM and PBS Sprout in the PM for my daughter. This has successfully insulated me from all (excluding the odd blog-echoes) of the most inane celebrity reporting.
No, not that dumb.
Apparently there was one. She pulled into the Starbucks...bodygaurd got out to get a latte...she removed said baby from seat and played with him in front seat...bodygaurd came back and that's when all heck broke loose and she drove away, still with baby in lap. Although she does look rather relaxed in the picture.
It's bad enough she was holding him...I was amazed she was also driving at the time.
i'd also mention to spears who else died in a car accident while trying to avoid paparazzi...if i gave a crap about her at all.
What did you expect? She's a redneck through and through, I don't care how much money she has.
Hey now. Even the rednecks I know have a bit more common sense than this.
I'm an urban liberal, and also a redneck, and I have to admit, the redneck part of me looks at that and says, "What's the big deal".
Growing up in the kind of environment where you shoot squirrels with your .22 when you're 8 years old, gives you a more expansive tolerance for risk, maybe.
Maybe...and maybe it wouldn't be a big deal to me if she was out in the sticks somewhere with no traffic. But to do it in a big city, while supposedly being pursued by the media?
I think we should start a petition to have Britney Spears arrested for Child Endangerment
I'm pretty sure if that airbag deploys with the child in that position, the correct term is "instant death, no saving throw". To help you sleep peacefully tonight, read what the CDC says.
Jeezus, I've said both these ideas before and they continue to work in circumstances like this one. Bratney has to have a license to drive that auto. But any two complete idiots can have a child in this country. There ought to be a minimum skills test, and if you fail, no youngsters for you then. Further: You can lead same said damn fools to knowledge, but you can't make them think. Let's for chrissakes keep 'em from breeding.
Britney spears has a baby?
I didnt know that. (At least I am fairly sure I didnt) My celebrity gossip avoidance strategy to save scarce brain power for something useful and interesting is working.
Getting all whompus on Spears but staying completely hands-off the whole car thing entirely.
No one over the age of 50 was raised strapped in to the seat, and we were all raised in cars.
I've seen statistics that say it isn't 14 it's 30, single greatest cause of death for people under 30 - car wrecks.
I understand what you mean and I support it until you bail completely on the central problem. Same with anti-drunk-driving activists.
People have been drinking for ten thousand years, driving less than a century - but it's gotta be about the booze.
Because cars are sacred.
That's the problem.
The answer's there too.
Too late, you know it now.
This information probably bumped out something else, like the atomic weight of gadolinium. ~8*)
rollo said:
Those that survived anyway.
Could be both, couldn't it?
rollo--
huh?
Sure, absolutely. But 1) people died, and 2) cars today aren't the same as cars back in the day. Additionally, just cause "things used to be that way" doesn't mean that's the *best* way. Like the whole airbag thing, that obviously wasn't a concern even--what--10 years ago? Even if she thinks she can safely hold him, if she gets in an accident and that airbag deploys, that could be all it takes to kill him or cause permanent injury.
Things like car seats and bike helmets exist because kids die from injuries caused by these activities--simple as that.
The central problem being...?
Again, huh? I lost an aunt and uncle to a drunk driver and would probably consider myself an "activist" in that realm, but I've never said "it's gotta be about the booze." Rather, in both cases, it's all about personal responsibility and respecting the lives and safety of others.
Tara-
No, it's about the cars. But the cars are sacred so it's about the booze, and the airbags and the seatbelts.
We're in Iraq, we're addicted to oil, the world's on fire from car exhaust, all because of cars - and Brittany Spears is an asshole because she can't get away from the predatory photographers quickly and strap her kid down at the same time.
Keeping in mind we have that image of her because of the people she was trying to get away from.
I don't mean to diminish anyone's tragedy or loss, but we're not seeing this in the same light.
The use of the automobile is completely sacred, and goes unquestioned.
That's the problem.
The rest is ennabling.
rollo - You make some good points as to its being all about the cars. For example, here in Maine, we are debating whether it is 'right' or not to confiscate the vehicle driven by someone with multiple license suspensions. Now, that says a lot about our attitude toward the cars.
Anybody had any personal experiences with the paparazzi? What I don't understand about these celebrities is how they relate with the paparazzi in public spaces. I mean, don't they have enough money to hire a team of mirror bearers or something?
Is Britney in the foreground holding the baby? I'm pretty sure this isn't someone I'd recognize face on either. I don't watch TV, and was an early FireFox adopter with pop ups turned off. My cave has pretty thick walls.
I work for an automobile company. One of my colleagues witnessed an intentional car crash at 7 MPH with an instrumented dummy that was not belted in. The dummy was a mess. So, when he and his wife got into their car to move it across a parking lot, and she didn't strap in, he insisted by saying that the car wasn't moving until she was, so she got out and walked. Even intelligent people can be stubborn.
I've seen these films, but it isn't the same has being there. I take his word for it.
My 'new' car has front seat air bags. If they can be turned off, I don't know how. That's why my nine year old rides in back.
rollo--okay, that's a whole additional issue. I understand and agree with some of your criticism, but yes, I'm taking car use as a given. If you are going to drive, and are going to take your kid, you need to do it safely--that's my point.
The following is sarcasm:
Who needs air bags when you can just put your baby on your lap?
An HBO comedy show had the "Baby On Bumper" window sticker skit... they didn't bother to digitally use a real baby - it was obviously a doll.
Well the number one cause of death in a 4-month old is SIDS. If Ms. Spears is this irresponsible in plain view of the scrutinizing public, I shudder to think of how she cares for the child in private. I can just imagine the nice soft mattress in a crib overflowing with pink stuffed animals and blankets in room filled with K-Fed's cigarette smoke. I would also be willing to place a good amount of money on the likelihood that her child is also unimmunized. I recently took care of a 4-month old with a head full of pus as a result of Hib meningitis. That child will now be lucky to not need a g-tube to receive nutrition let alone being America's next pop princess. This upsets me on a very deep level. I mean if a true American hero like Brittny Spears can't manage to properly take care of her infant child, then how can we expect regular people to. I hope she learns something from this.
"in plain view of the scrutinizing public"
There it is right there.
So is it the cars fault? Or the paparazzi's? I'm confused. Maybe it's just Brittny's fault or any particular person who acts as she did. Why make excuses for her or anyone else? The photographers weren't trying to eat her or her baby. They weren't going to murder or in any way harm her. They need her and others like her. They surely would love to invade her privacy but that isn't against the law in a Starbucks parking lot. Hell she had a body guard with her who was very likely armed. She could have gotten in the car, locked the doors, put the kid in the seat, and drove off. They weren't going to tip over her car or smash the windows open with a nearby rock. She either got frustrated and did what she did because she just wanted to get away from the cameras, or the whole story is a PR gambit to save face. Either way she messed up.
And what is your beef with cars? Most meaningful technology bears a price tag. Your life would likely be drastically different and more complicated without cars. How do you think that you are able to obtain the things to need and enjoy? Mostly truckers. Those are like cars only bigger. How do you get to work? Should we not have ambulances? How about mass transportation? Buses also are car like. How do you travel to see friends and relatives? Do you not think that your life benefits greatly from transportation? It's fine to preach about trying to find alternative energy sources and carpooling but get over it about the cars.
Clark-
As Tara pointed out above cars kill children. Cars kill children in the U.S. more than any single other thing kills children in the U.S.
That alone should do it.
But you have to read the words, and remember them.
We are talking about one particular child's life being endangered by a poor decision by Ms. Spears. You have blamed first the car and then the paparazzi. My question is why isn't the mother at fault. So should we get rid of all cars? Is that a rational solution? By that rationale we should also get rid of all guns, and all swimming pools, and all peanuts, etc, etc. Please tell us what should we do?
Clark-
It would probably be helpful if you were just quiet for a while.
Try to identify how easily your valid moral outrage is being targeted and manipulated, and how the blind spots in your world-view are being maintained for the benefit of people you would otherwise be very angry toward.
Far more angry than you are right now at someone who has been hounded into a spotlight you take unthinkingly as your right, as though the picture of her you're seeing is just some window you're looking through, out at the world.
It isn't.
It's a lens, and someone's holding the lens that you don't see. But without them you won't be able to see Brittany Spears running from them, or Sean Penn giving them the finger, or Russel Crowe shoving a camera up one of their asses.
They work for you. You kind of know that, but the arrangement is you don't have to think about it too much, because then you might start feeling responsible for what they do.
The same relationship gave you the world on four wheels.
There's a movie called "Roger Rabbit" that's about that. You could watch it - try to hear to what it's saying.
We are clearly having two different conversations. I'll just be quiet for a while then. Maybe I'll go for a drive.
I hadn't, till now. Thanks a lot, Tara.
::rolls eyes:: Well, duh, yes there is - can't you see he's on the phone?