Katherine+W’s+2017+OpEd+Article

Mind your own business. In this world, we have a bad habit. That habit is to stick our noses where they don’t belong and voice our opinions to someone who didn’t ask for it. Harassment, if you will. This is something everyone’s heard of and all people of all creeds can tell a personal statement on. It’s a horrible epidemic that I, apathetic person that I am, seem to be immune from. Unfortunately, however, I’m not exempt from it completely as I feel like I have a third person point of view between the harassed and the harasser. It’s very confusing and upsetting to watch, especially since I don’t understand it. Why do people care so much about each other’s business that they’d forget their manners and disrespect another human being? Why do we spend hours of the day squawking over celebrity relationships and fighting over Twitter? Why can’t we just live our own lives and be happy with that? Why do we have to butt in? What does it matter? Ok, Beyonce had twins, Taylor Swift was dating Tom Hiddleston, and Robert Downey Jr. went to the supermarket. Let me ask you this: Is their private lives, the lives of people who are just trying to do their job and act on stage, any of your business?

I don’t care if they’ve voluntarily put themselves in the limelight; that’s no reason to make their every move public. The limelight is in the theater; the stage that they actually signed up for. In any other lighting -whether it be fluorescent, sun, or candle-, I believe they should be awarded the same level of respect as any other person just going about their business. A celebrity, and any other person, should be able to freely roam the world without the fear of being hounded by a) the paparazzi, b) adoring fans, c) vengeful critics, or d) random strangers in general. Just leave them alone if you see them in public. And, yes, I understand that you’re super excited and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you absolutely loved their work in that movie, but DON’T. Here’s some rules: I want to live in a world where celebrities can cross the street without having their motives questioned. Is that too much to ask for? Why can’t we just enjoy and obsess over the movies/TV shows/whatever and leave the actors be? Don’t they have the right to walk freely, without being watched?
 * Don’t stare at celebrities.
 * Even stares of awe or amazement can be creepy when you’re just trying to eat.
 * Don’t walk up and force celebrities to talk about a movie they were in.
 * Especially if you want to criticize their work
 * “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it”is the idea here.
 * There’s ONE exception to this rule:
 * You just want to shower them quickly in compliments and then leave. That’s all. No muss, no fuss.
 * If so, proceed. You may very well make their day.
 * Don’t make any demands for a photo.
 * If they seem at all uncomfortable, realize that you are a stranger. No matter how well you may know them, they don’t know you and owe absolutely nothing to you.
 * Don’t bother them.
 * They’re just people trying to get through their day. And, although flattering, I doubt they want to be stopped a hundred times a day while they’re just out for a walk.

Now, I’ve been focusing on celebrities but, unfortunately, this problem is one that “regular” people have dealt with as well. These awful moments when someone else just couldn’t keep themselves to themselves. I’ll be addressing them as if I’m talking to them because 1) there’s quite a few of them and 2) what they’re doing just doesn’t make sense and I have questions.

Hello! Congratulations, Bad Customer, you’re the first I’m addressing since there’s just SO many of you! Can I ask you a few questions or is that going to send you into a murderous rage cause it’ll take too long? “How rude! Don’t you know who I am?!” Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you were some important person and therefore exempt from common human decency! I suppose you think all retail workers are inferior and all Mcdonald's workers are dumb, right? But, then, if you’re so very special and making so much more money than us “common folk”, what are you doing in Mcdonald’s? Why aren’t you in a high-tail store, huh, hot shot? Why can’t you just wait, like a decent human being, and not give the worker, another human being - just like you, a hard time? Is it really that difficult to be understanding? It’s not their fault if the register malfunctions; if they didn’t hear you well the first time and need you to repeat your order; if they tripped while holding your drink and now need to get a new one; or if it’s company policy and they can’t accept the return. Whether it’s simple human error or something beyond their control, like company policy, just be calm. Don’t throw a tantrum. Prove that you are above the mentality of a unruly two year old and can handle the small inconveniences of life. Sound good? Good.

Next, you, the homophobic Christian who’s ranting in the middle of Sears. Yes, maybe the gays will go to Hell and we’ll all repent when Rapture comes, but isn’t that what you want? All the sinners go to Hell and you, sinless, “wonderful”, straight person that you are get to go to Heaven? So why do you feel the need to… I don’t know, warn them? What are you even trying to accomplish other than scare and confuse little kids that are close enough to hear you yelling “DIRTY F--!!!”? I assure you we all know about the bible (with the exception of some super-duper sheltered people); we all know what you think its opinion of gays are. We don’t need the reminder, so just shut up. Stop trying to force your religion onto others. Stop scaring the little kids and forcing their mothers to explain what you’re yelling about. “Love thy neighbor” for God’s sake.

And, you! Yes, you!, the person who has cornered an overweight woman in public and is now bugging her about her weight. Saying stuff like, “Wow! You’re really fat! So…what’s the deal? Boyfriend left ya? Job getting to ya? Feeling like the only reason for living is to get to the bottom of your third tub of ice cream?” Why the heck do you even want to know? What are you trying to do? Do you really want this woman to unload her reasons onto you? “Well… I’m just trying to make sure she knows she’s fat and does something about it!” Really? You’re concerned about her health? Then why aren’t you screaming at the smokers over there? Why aren’t you harassing everyone you see who has health problems? When will you realize that you’re just a jerk and all that stuff about being concerned for her health is just excuses for bullying? Let her family and loved ones worry and confront any bad habits she has. That’s not your job, or your right. Upcoming is a guy who, for those readers who don’t know, yelled, “Go f--- ing cook my burrito, b!” in support of Donald Trump deporting immigrants. I just… I understand that he means it demeaningly, however this doesn’t make sense. I mean, if he wants Mexican immigrants to make burritos for him, wouldn’t it be better if they were in America, nearby, running the burrito shop, so that he can get burritos? Following his own logic that Mexican immigrants = burritos, deportation will only make it harder to get burritos. How has he not made this connection? How have all of the people supporting mass deportation not realized this? We’ve known since 1619, with the first African slaves being brought in, that immigrants mean cheap, hard labor. They’re not “stealing our jobs” at all. If you lose your job to someone who can’t speak English, doesn’t understand our culture, and may or may not be able to read at all, then you, quite simply, are not qualified for the job. All of the jokes and comments about immigrant gardeners and grunt workers simply cement the point that you have nothing to fear from them. They’re just taking the jobs that we don’t want to do. “ They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists” (Trump). I can tell you right now that my grandmother was an illegal immigrant; she came to America, with some other family members, when she was very young. Wanna know why they left? Because my great-grandfather was a business owner, a respectable member of the community, and Mexican rebels kept coming in and tossing his produce into the street. They didn’t want to leave their home, but they had to, to get AWAY from the crim e in Mexico. And I’m sure it’s the same story with most, if not all, immigrants. Why would they come to cop-laden America if their goal was to commit crime? Why do you have to hate foreigners? Why do “you think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you”? (Pocahontas). Why do you care so much about them if they’re just doing menial jobs? The system we have now, to deport them if they commit a crime, is working just fine and dandy at getting rid of the ones “bringing drugs” and leaving the good ones al one. So please sto p. Everyone, just mind your own business. Don’t bother others. We’re all just trying to live our lives; just let people live theirs, without interference. Everyone -celebrity, worker, gay man, chubby person, and immigrant- should be able to go out without fear of judgement or harassment. Whatever your reason for harassing is -whether it be admiration, indignation, holy righteousness, concern, or overzealous patriotism- it’s not good enough to excuse such disrespectful behavior. Be content with living your own life and not messing with others. I promise you that it’ll be much easier for everyone if you do.