Internet goddess Kim Kardashian, her husband Kanye West, their two old daughter North and the 'fragile' Kardashian sister, Khloe, landed their private plane in Ben Gurion earlier this week for a brief visit, along with their support staff and their massive marketing machine. Immediately, a group was set up on Facebook to follow their every move, with abundant tweets begging Kanye to arrange a free concert. The magical duo were featured on the covers of every major Israeli newspaper, and the info-tainment industry will probably air a special program on the outfits they all wore to little North's baptism. Rabid hordes of fans began to stake out hotels and high-end restaurants in Jerusalem, with the hopes of spotting, and maybe even, yes, touching the sparkly celebrity couple. As if simply being near their assets (pun intended) would rub off on the common folk in some small way.
Who cares, really. This is a woman who comes from a family more than eager to prostitute themselves for fame and fortune. We have suffered through daily updates about Kim's gynecological issues and her frequency of love making, her sister's painful divorce, her other sister's dysfunctional non-marriage, her step-father's transgender evolution, and her brother's spiral into mental illness.
I feel dirty just reading that last sentence.
Kimberly even used the Armenian Genocide to manipulate a photo opportunity. Her husband, Kanye West, is at the very least a thug and an anti-Semite, a rapper who felt it appropriate to humiliate a disabled man at one of his concerts; one of the human beings least qualified for public admiration.
You could argue that I am reacting out of jealousy. After all, I don't have a full make-up and wardrobe team, my apartment could fit inside one of their walk-in closets, and Kimye's clothing budged rivals the GNP of our small country of Israel. Whereas I can only dream of actually being able to afford a home of my own, something modest in Jerusalem, the Kardashians flew in for two days to purchase a multi-million dollar penthouse in Tel Aviv, on a whim.
This is not about envy, I pity this family for having strayed so far from the norms of basic decency. I do not aspire to my own reality program, I have enough to deal with on a daily basis in my real life, between single parenting and living in a country surrounded by our genetic cousins who want to wipe us off the map.
This rant is about the Kardashians, the Honey Boo Boos and the Toddlers with Tiaras. The parents who find it praise-worthy to exploit their offspring and actively place their children in harm's way, in order to make a buck. It is not a far leap from the 21rst century mental illness called "Kardashian Syndrome" to the ongoing tragic news story coming out of Maryland.
It is this same set of skewed and twisted values that allows two Jewish parents to purposely send their ten year old Rafi and his younger sister Devorah alone to the park, so they can be picked up by local police and held hostage for several hours by CPS. After, all, when the authorities in Maryland have already threatened to remove their children from the home forever, why take that seriously? And now that the parents are suing the local police, they can expose their children to even more trauma, forcing them to testify in court and relive the nightmare.
The more drama, the better the reality show...
All to make a point about Free Range Parenting and American Constitution, whatever that point may be; and more importantly, to stand in front of the camera while the mother weeps crocodile tears and the father grins with giddy excitement, soaking in the attention from the media.
Let's end the 15 minutes of fame of these parents, the Kardashians and their ilk. If we really care about our own children and their future, let's stop elevating pond scum into false gods.
4 comments:
the Meitivs did not send their kids alone to the park so they could be held "hostage" by the police and get on tv. They police offered the kids a ride home and instead of delivering them home held them nearly six hours without food or contacting their parents. Rafi said 'The policeman said 'We'll give you a ride home' when we were like two blocks away. And two and a half hours later, after sitting in the car two and a half hours, he said 'I'll bring you home' and, instead, he brought us here.'
The Meitivs are not self promoting themselves-they were brought into the spotlight by supposedly well meaning neighbors.
I do not think equating the Meitivs with the Kardashians is appropriate.
The Meitiv parents claim that their ten year old son is a trustworthy and mature enough child to go alone to the park and safeguard his sister. Yet, by your own account, when the police lied to the children, neither child knew how to demand to speak to their parents or defend themselves. The Meitiv parents claim that they can give their children the independence they deserve, but clearly they lack the awareness and capability to defend themselves. So, in sending the kids out alone, perhaps, just perhaps, there were other considerations there besides a philosophical adherence to a parenting style. It does not absolve the irresponsible behavior of the police and the CPS, but it all started with their parents.
Perhaps the kids were taught to listen to respect authority like the police and not talk back. Why should they not believe the police.
Respect authority yes, but when a grown up, any grown up, makes you uncomfortable and blatantly lies to you, children should be taught to say "No" and "Stop." Didn't hear anything about these kids complaining, demanding or resisting; unless of course it goes against the Free Range policy to teach them to protect themselves. I have always maintained that the police and CPS went well past their authority in this case and violated the children's rights, but it all starts with the parents, at home.
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