Let's Chase the Paparazzi!

I am tired of walking to the counter at the grocery store and seeing the tabloids blaring headlines about actresses who gained too much weight, or this actor getting caught cheating on his spouse. I am tired hearing about celebrities who are drug addicted, are on the worst dressed list or where they vacation during the summer. I don't care how much money they make or what their houses look like inside. Who is divorcing who doesn't matter to me as much as if I plan on staying married to my husband.

It's simply none of my business. With some pictures getting bought from the paparazzi for up to a million dollars or more, it is understandable why there are more and more of those pesky, irritating little creatures than we would like. The more rare a picture is, the more they get paid. If you get the first picture of someone's baby, if you catch a star with part of their genitals showing, if you get them in the first stages of a romance, you are sure to be paid top dollar.

If you can provide breaking news before anyone else, you get paid. There is no concern for a person's dignity or privacy when it comes to these low life thieves whose main goal is to steal a part of your life from you- to take a treasured moment and plaster it all over the world for everyone to see.

What ever happened to privacy? When Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony got married, they had helicopters buzzing overhead. The same happened when Brad Pitt married Jennifer Aniston. Sometimes these over-the-top, pushy and downright abusive photographers go over the edge.

They harass the stars when all they want to do is to be left alone. They can no sooner than sit down at a lunch table than to have a camera shoved in their face taking pictures of them eating. The photographers taunt the stars, trying to get them to throw punches or say something rude. They chase the celebrities down and invade in every moment of their lives.

But at what cost? In one of the more notable problems with the Paparazzi would have to be the death of the beloved Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. Apparently they were being chased down by the paparazzi when they were involved in a crash.

More recently, Keith Urban was riding his motorcycle, being chased by the camera-wielding thieves and got into an accident. While the paparazzi in this case were very kind, helping him and not taking pictures, it really showed you just how little respect they have for another person's privacy.

It would be really interesting to see these photographers being harassed by the same people who they harass themselves. What would happen if no matter what they did they had someone in their face 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, chasing them, stalking them, bothering close family members, or even hanging around their child's school taking unauthorized pictures of them?

What if they had to keep their windows closed so no money hungry person with a camera would be able to take an unflattering picture of them? If they went to the doctors, having to worry if everyone in the hospital might read their records. Would that change the tune of things?

The reality is that there is no protection for these stars. When all they want to be is left alone, there is always going to be those who don't care about anyone but himself or herself and are willing to go to any length to make a dollar.

I say leave them alone. They were humans before they came stars and should always be treated as such. There is no reason why they cannot live a quiet normal life, and be allowed to live without fear that someone is outside hiding in the bushes waiting to assault them.

The quicker we start paying attention to ourselves and quit worrying about others and what they have, the better off we will all be.