(Some) Celebrities are the New White People

Katherine Coble shared a story about her husband's experience with Samuel L. Jackson, in which Jackson stole her husband's cab.

Back when I used to watch MTV, I remember watching a special on celebrities and how they lived. It spoke about how when celebrities showed up at clubs, they simply told people sitting at a table to get up. I believe it was my wife who said, "Isn't that what white people used to do to black people."

Same with the cab story. I could just imagine back in the 1960s, or even today, some white person shoving a black person out of the cab because they had to make their tee time.

Now, I know this really is not an issue of race, but I believe there is an underlying commonality with how some white people treated black people (some still do) and how celebrities treat the peasant folk. As Katherine said in response to my comment about this commonality on her blog,
"Interesting point. I think it has something to do with the perception of priviledge translating to worth.

Some white people used to be treated better solely because of their whiteness. They thought that meant they were actually worth it, and others worth less.

Replace "white" with "celebrity" and you have the same thing."

So, what is my point? I really don't know. It just bothers me when I hear of celebrities treating other people like trash, because, in many ways, it is the same type of behavior seen in race relations.

But it is easy to bash on celebrities and point out the flaws in other people. So, I have to examine myself and see if there is any of that in me. Do I think of certain groups of others as "less" than me? Do I ever think I am hot stuff? Do I ever look at my occupation and compare it to the occupation of others? Do I think I am superior just because I am really, really, ridiculously good looking?