Posted by DarkFather at gemini.55bank.com on March 21, 2003 at 20:39:18:
In Reply to: Quick Poll about -- Celebrity! Woo-woo, glam-ah! posted by Booty Princess on March 21, 2003 at 20:01:45:
: 1) Should a public figure's personal life play into how they are perceived? Examples: Roman Polanski & Woody Allen (sexual deviancy), Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor (high-profile romantic adventurism), Marilyn Manson (wierd religion), Jason Mewes (don't make me smack you), etc.
No. Unless they are hurting someone or some thing.
: Have they given up their right to privacy by choosing a public life? Or should their public career be considered separately from their personal business?
By today's standards, yes. Should it be that way? Only to a degree. There used to be some etiquette. Irrelevant issues were left alone. Rock Hudson was gay... but almost no one knew about it until he got AIDS. Hell, FDR was wheelchair bound and no one knew. I really don't need to know, nor really care to know, if a politician sleeps with an intern or if an actor has a penchant for golden showers or small furry creatures.
The exception is law breaking or otherwise dangerous behavior.
: 2) Does it matter if the person is a politician, or an artist, an athlete or a businessman? Should some public figures be allowed to have more privacy than others?
No. I will say, though, that much of their publicity is by their own design. They DO hire publicists, after all. But I think that both sides have gone a little overboard.
: 3) Should public figures who aren't politicians make political statements? I.e. is it their duty to remain neutral, or their duty to use the platform they've been given to speak their minds?
They have the right to speak. But they also have power. Power to shape people's opinions, if only in small measure. And I think too many of them dispense this power foolishly. They make remarks sparked by emotion, not logic or knowlege. Look at Alec Baldwin. I am still waiting for him to move out of the country.
: 4) Do you approve of celebrities entering politics? I.e. Ronald Reagan, Jesse Ventura, Jane Fonda, etc.
If they can contribute, sure. If they have are capable, sure.
: 5) Do you approve of the Grammies, and presumably the Oscars, being censored?
While I am against censorship in principal, there is a time and a place for everything. Free speech does not mean you can make someone else's gig your platform for political (or religious or other) ideology. So, I support whatever decision they make. It's their show.
: That's all.