Who Can Help Britney Spears?

Maybe it's a generation gap, but I've never been a fan of Britney Spears or thought much about her talent. Nonetheless, with the endless media attention she has been receiving lately, even I started keeping up with her latest antics.

I was reading about her latest trip to the hospital after the standoff over her children. Along with the article, there were over 100 pictures. Most of the pictures were of Britney not at her best, but one picture really caught my eye. It was a picture of the paparazzi taking pictures, and it captured the paparazzi in a free-for-all frenzy to get a camera lens into the window at the back of the ambulance.

I can't say I often have compassion for someone who makes millions of dollars from the public, then has an expectation for privacy-on-demand. But, after reading the article and seeing that picture, I felt bad for Britney.

Divorce, losing custody of ones children, checking in and out of hospitals to seek help are all very difficult ordeals for any person to have to endure. Add the hounding of paparazzi waiting to seize an opportunity to snap a scoring picture can only magnify the emotional difficulty associated with these very private issues. Looking at the picture of the paparazzi made me stop and think, "How much more can she take?"

Is it possible Britney Spears will be another "Candle in the Wind" like Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, or Anna Nicole Smith? It is possible. And, should it happen, she'll leave us with the paparazzi to blame for pushing her over the edge.

But in all reality, the paparazzi is only doing what the public asks of them. I've never seen a photographer or newscaster near my house because the public isn't concerned about who's getting divorced, losing custody of their children, or being admitted to hospitals in my neighborhood.