The Lens:
Have you ever been diagnosed with cancer? I haven’t, but I know far too many people who have. It is devastating.
There was a book a while back by Betty Rollin, a news correspondent, that was later made into a movie with Mary Tyler Moore (MTM) playing Ms. Rollin. It was titled “First, You Cry,” and chronicled Ms. Rollin’s battle with breast cancer.
It was quite some time ago when I saw the movie. I remember MTM’s reaction when she received the diagnosis. It was one of disbelief and horror. I can’t remember the exact percentage, but she was told the likely probability of cancer was something like 65%. Still, it was devastating.
As the movie progressed, she realizes the doctor was pretty certain at the time that she had cancer but gave her a much lower percentage to give her time to come to terms with her cancer (I’m not sure how ethical that is and I doubt doctors would be so misleading today – but I digress).
I think it was toward the end of the movie when Ms. Rollin (MTM) is interviewed about her cancer. My memory of this is probably not accurate but the scene goes something like this: Ms. Rollin (MTM) is asked about her reaction to diagnosis and says, “First, you cry.” The interviewer asks her, then what? She answers, “Then you go a little crazy.”
A cancer diagnosis becomes a whirlwind. Think how you are trying to accept what is happening while at the same time trying to figure out how your treatment will proceed. It is overwhelming.
Then think how your trauma would be exponentially increased if you had young children to consider – how can I shield them from this, how do I tell them, how do I take care of them, will I be around to see them grow up?
This is what Princess Catherine was going through when she was mercilessly hounded by the media. So, on top of all she had heaped on her, she had worldwide attention badgering her to divulge what was going on.
I wonder if we have completely lost our humanity or if we ever really had any.
The Refraction:
I worked for a bank for many years. Confidentiality was an important part of the job. Yes, I was curious but I learned the concept of “need to know,” and I took customer confidentiality very seriously.
I have tried to carry the idea of “need to know” into my personal life. I try to respect people’s privacy and not ask questions that are simply meant to satisfy my curiosity.
When I think of Princess Catherine, there was no “need to know” what was going on. I don’t mean to demean her but, really, she is nobody. Yes, she is the wife of the future King of England and the mother of the future King of England. That makes her a curiosity, not a person whose existence is crucial to anyone except her family. If she were to die, her husband still becomes king, and her son becomes king after that.
Let’s take a look at King Charles III, who was also recently diagnosed with cancer. He is the King of England, head of the British Armed Forces and a prominent diplomatic figure. I would argue, we had no “need to know” about Charles’ cancer, either.
Think about Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. Her father, King George VI, had cancer and kept it secret, even from Elizabeth. When he died, accession to the throne was preordained, i.e., Elizabeth would become queen.
The role of the monarch and monarchy did not change. In time, yes, Elizabeth would make it her own, modernizing many aspects of the monarchy. The monarchy’s basic role, though, did not change.
So, how would the public knowing that King George VI was going to die have changed anything? It might have helped Elizabeth prepare herself and her family for the enormous impact on their lives that was to come. It wouldn’t have changed anything else.
Anyone who has achieved celebrity status has likely had unwanted personal intrusions as if, by virtue of their celebrity, they owe us every private detail of their lives. I wonder at what point in time we began to view people as commodities. I guess it has probably always been that way – people exploiting others for their own gain.
Certainly, some of the most egregious examples include slavery and human trafficking. But there are others, too, like employers’ abuse of their employees in the name of profit.
In much the same way, we treat celebrities as commodities. We exploit them for our own selfish profit and/or entertainment. We have an insatiable want for news of their lives and this want is big business. There are even publications devoted entirely to celebrity news.
In all of this, the key word is “want.” Stories are framed as news when they are simply gossip. The tagline of one of the most prominent of these publications, “Enquiring minds want to know,” says it all. We “want” to know. We don’t need to know.
I wondered earlier at what point in time we began to view people as commodities. Really, the bigger question is, “At what point do we stop?” From slavery to human trafficking to pursuing profits off celebrity gossip to abusing employees, treating people as mere commodities hurts us all. It normalizes the idea that there are people we can use as we want and, in turn, allows for the exploitation of anyone for gain without regard for their humanity,