Whatever Happened to Common Decency?

Two things.

Let’s begin with something that has absolutely no connection with me.

Right now, some fishwrap editors have bought nasty photos of a young woman because… because she married into a famous family, and they all have the feeling that they own her because of her new surname.

I know they’d never answer me, but I’d like to know how they’d react if they were bullied and hunted the way they track and abuse their victims.

Same thing for the bipeds who buy the publications where stolen photos are published. Don’t they have a life? Don’t they have something better to do? Seriously, I hadn’t noticed that there’s peace on Earth and no children and animals dying so that people can justify being nosey about what their neighbours do. Silly me! [Where’s the sarcasm font when you need it???]

It’s seeing the gossip-mongering mentality of the “cave”, of the “village”, being blown at the speed of light in the media and on the Internet – and it’s not pretty.

In the same category, I was a bit shocked to see the lack of respect that’s rampant on the net.

I’ll keep focussing on this story.

Even if people are not fans of the Royal family, it’d be nice if they showed a minimum of respect. But it seems that a lot of people were raised in barns by illiterate beasts.

I’ve seen people mention the husband as “William” (it was a huge minority); mostly, he was called “Prince William”.

Well… How was the charming Duchess of Cambridge referred to? Go on, make a guess… “Kate” or, even better, “#Kate”. Did they all go to school with her that they can allow themselves to be so familiar? A few might have, but the rest of the planet hasn’t.

So, we have:

-         arrogant thieves paparazzi taking pictures of a young woman staying with friends (seriously, with a normal camera, you wouldn’t get a clear photo of the first line of trees, so the bathing suit of the young lady would be out of the question)

-         plonkers working in magazines and newspapers buying the photos in order to make money whilst abusing the young woman’s rights.

-         a collection of heartless bipeds interested in the photos because they think that the fact that the young woman is now famous makes her their property (last I checked, slavery has been abolished centuries ago in the UK).

-         various people referring to the male element of the couple with a modicum of respect, whilst they treat the female element as inferior in that couple (and it was a tad disappointing when the BBC joined the disrespectful bunch and used “#Kate” in most of their tweets last weekend).

-         a small proportion of bullies who approve and are cheering (I even caught one “she brought it on herself”. How?! By being alive and on Earth?! Twats!).

I know it’s none of my business, but if I knew someone – anyone – hunted by photographers and vilified for trying to protect himself, or herself, I’d stand by that person.

Incidentally (karmically?), something happened today.

My mother moved far from me, and today, she informed me that some local group where she now lives has sent a leaflet to the village (and probably the whole area). In that leaflet, there’s a photo of my mother. Since she’s not one of their members, you can imagine her surprise. 

She phoned the group, and after being transferred higher and higher, the second-in-command had the nerve to tell her that as long as she wasn’t “directly looking at the camera”, they didn’t need to ask for her authorization to publish the photo.

All good, except that…………. *drumroll, please* …………. That decerebrated idiot is either incompetent in law, or a pathological liar – and I honestly don’t know which.

You see, the thing, where my mother lives now, is that there is a law to protect people – everybody, from my mother to the Duchess of Cambridge – and to guarantee that it’s only after signing an agreement that any photo can be published.

Cherry on the cake? My mother lives in France, and she and the Duchess of Cambridge are protected by the same law (this is not the kind of sentence I ever thought I’d type!). Some will object that the duchess is a public figure, but... back to "how would you react if you were the one hunted 24/7?".

A president at a museum opening, an actor at a premiere, a princess visiting a school... fair game. But after "work", all the public figures deserve privacy - because they are not public properties.

The plonkers who published the photos of the duchess know the laws (they’ve been sued in enough courts to know) and the idiot that stressed my mother knows, or should know better, but they don’t care.

What’s sad is that the duchess will win in court, but she shouldn’t have to fight to be allowed shreds of privacy. She may be a public figure, but she’s not a property.

What’s awful is that even a small fish like my mother can find herself in a situation to have to defend her right to privacy.

No one would have to fight for that right if some bipeds knew the laws and abode by them. And it would also help if most people didn’t put their curious noses where they don’t belong.

To conclude, I hope the Duchess of Cambridge will manage to start something that will stop the fishwraps and mosquitoes (because those plonkers have been running wild for way too long).

I also hope that my mother will phone the stupid second-in-command, too, in order to rub that idiot’s nose in her mistake – just for fun, because she highly deserves it.

P.S.: even if you do not approve of royal family members, of presidents, of... anyone, if you haven’t been raised by wolves, being polite isn’t going to make your tongue fall to the floor. It’s not quantum mechanics to be polite and use proper protocol.

Perhaps my education was too good… but I don’t think that common decency is too much to ask.