And sorry, you are flat out wrong. While she doesn’t need the media following her, and I will grant that, the last thing she needs is to be left alone. She needs those who really care for her as a person, not a meal ticket, to help push her towards the help she does need.

I agree 100%, AR. It reminds me of what someone once said about Marilyn Monroe: she was one of the most beautiful and popular women that ever lived, but on the night she died, she couldn’t find anyone who would pick up the phone and talk to her (my paraphrase, and I can’t recall who said it.) This is what happens when people are objectified for the pleasure of others. No doubt that they allow themselves to reach that state, but there are reasons that they do so.

I agree about the mental health issues as well, AR. I hope one day that society evolves to the point of understanding the need for preventative mental health care, rather than paying the human and financial costs of addictions.

MichaelF, this wasn’t a pragmatic move. She was whacked out at the time, and semi-coherent at the time (even for her). Federline (her ex) has turned down a multi-million dollar/no custody settlement proposal. By every account I have read, her behaviour has added zeros to this settlement. She didn’t have her hair cut…the stylist refused, and she did it herself. Then left masses of the hair, which is currently up for auction for a half-million (if she was concerned about the drug test, she wouldn’t have left all that hair at the salon

Yes, this was a pragmatic move on her part. You might argue that it was not well executed based on your points but that has nothing to do with why she did it. However, you would be wrong to suggest that hair samples obtained from the floor could be used against her in a court of law. The authenticity of the hair on Ebay is less than credible. Hence the reason there are strict rules regarding taking such samples.

In conclusion. she was determined to cut her hair off for exactly the reason I detailed. That doesn’t mean I don’t agree that Spears is having a meltdown. There are plenty of examples of irrational behavior on her part. The hair episode just isn’t one of them /

A small amount will suffice for a shorter range of testing. But the length of hair actually shows a detailed history of months of drug use.

[edit] Hair drug screen

Hair follicle testing is quite accurate and can go back 6 months or longer, showing any controlled substances used in a sort of timeline. As hair grows out, any drugs used are encased in the hair shaft, so the longer the hair, the longer back in the individual’s drug history the lab can detect. Most legitimate testing facilities, however, only use hair within about 3-5 cm of the scalp, and discard the rest. This limits the detection history to about 90 days, depending upon the rate of growth of the individual’s hair. Some people attempt to circumvent this through shaving their heads. In the absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp, body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute. Additionally, for pre-employment hair testing, the inability to obtain a sample may be grounds for not hiring the individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_test

Yes, that is another way of looking at this whole business…that we (as a society) have the luxury of even thinking about BS’s wackiness.

Where did I say a word about someone else providing her that help, except to insinuate that that help needs to be of a professional type?

And sorry, you are flat out wrong. While she doesn’t need the media following her, and I will grant that, the last thing she needs is to be left alone. She needs those who really care for her as a person, not a meal ticket, to help push her towards the help she does need.

Actually, this is something that bothers me. Remember the shark attack panic in the US media in the weeks before 9-11? We love our bread and circuses…
=========

It depends on how you read my son’s comment. I believe he was just glad that we were still at liberty to discuss the impact of celebrity on fragile personalities and on susceptible audiences.
It’s like being glad the sun rose in the morning one more time to find us still living and breathing.

She’s a f***ing multimillionaire, she can pay for all the help she needs. That’s not the problem. What she really needs is to be left alone to have the chance to lead a ‘normal’ live again.

Actually, this is something that bothers me. Remember the shark attack panic in the US media in the weeks before 9-11? We love our bread and circuses…

AustinRoth: Yes, I have seen that issue debated (whether BS has an illness). I suppose we can’t really know. She certainly does have addictions, though, and is out of anyone’s control…including herself.

BTW: “Oops she did it again” — Britney has just fled her second Rehab stay (I think she made the 8 hour mark this time, but don’t quote me). I expect she will be partying at Hyde or Area tonight.

No self-discipline or control. Pure Freudian Id.

That, in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with the entire situation.

I think the only thing that can be said for sure is that she is a young woman going thru a custody battle and a 9 figure divorce with everyone in the nation watching every move and having an opinion.

One thing that bugs me about 24/7 coverage of Anna Nicole’s paternity hearings, is that stories that are more meaningful get totally wiped off of the media. Couldn’t one cable channel cover a different news item??

“As long as the news is focused on Britney, I know the country is still okay.”

I am not saying she IS either bi-polar or chemically dependent, BUT, she certainly is acting like it.

I think one thing can be said without any chance of being wrong, and that is she is suffering from some form of mental instability right now, and needs help.

CS…I understand your family/parent-perspective on BS. But I just feel there is only so much sympathy/money/time to go around. Maybe it is a question of economics?

Well, that’s just it, Marlowe: I don’t see how this is a question of economics. That some people grow up to be vacant shells of human flesh isn’t something we can throw money at. The only fix for it IMO is to put the attention on what societal and family factors lead to this.

By the way, I share your admiration for Diana and Audrey Hepburn, and to a slightly lesser extent Jolie. In the latter case, her travels seem a bit too much like photo ops to me but I won’t begrudge her some credit (and I’ll admit that she looks gorgeous in the photos!)

Personally I think Spears is a trailer park girl who’d I’d likely never want to have dinner with. Its the reaction of the general public to her every move that I find interesting since it really is more telling about the state of our lives than hers.

I suppose we disagree there. I think a focus on BS means less focus somewhere else. I would be sympathetic, if she displayed any signs of selflessness. But there is not one I am aware of.

Sam, I would disagree as well about the effect of the “surreal bubble of fame”.

Diana. Angelina Jolie. Audrey Hepburn…all were/are extremely famous, and yet worked/showed human sympathy for others, even though they had problems.

I remember in the early 80s the shock in the British media when Diana visited AIDs patients in hospital…and actually touched one (this was in the midst of the AIDS=GAYplague era).

Look at all the pictures of Jolie in the media, who goes NOWHERE without her kids. How many photos have there been of BS and her kids (where she isn’t exposing them to imminent death by almost dropping them headfirst on the pavement)?

CS…I understand your family/parent-perspective on BS. But I just feel there is only so much sympathy/money/time to go around. Maybe it is a question of economics?

Thinks about it, she went and shaved her head and the country thinks she’s gone nuts. I personally think everyeone should shave their heads at least once, its alot of fun. But somehow everyone’s talking about how she needs an intervention, her life if falling apart, whatever. I’d be telling the whole world to fuck off at this point and let me do what I want.

There are countless more worthy objects of our sympathy and compassion. Millions, in fact…who are nameless and faceless…and go ignored because of the nature of the machine.

Marlowe,
I guess I just don’t think of compassion as a scarce commodity that has to be rationed. People like Spears are the product of their environment: what you call the machine, as well as the direct environment of her family which failed to counter the influence of the machine. So by having some compassion for her I find that I’m able to direct the anger or the responsibility toward society and toward families, which is where the remedies can be found to prevent many more Spears’s.

There are countless more worthy objects of our sympathy and compassion. Millions, in fact…who are nameless and faceless…and go ignored because of the nature of the machine.

The workings of the machine are interesting, but how many of its creations are decent human beings who have any interest in anyone other than themselves?