Blog by Sean Gehon, Friday, June 29, 2007
I’ve often wondered why people obsess over the idea of a celebrity. There are people on this planet who are willing to do whatever it takes to meet their favourite star, get their autograph, or even get a chance to see them in person. Why we go to such lengths, I once believed I may never know. After today, I’m starting to think I have finally discovered the secret of our obsession with celebrities. As a society, we love to see stupid people doing stupid things. There are a lot of celebrities, certainly not all, who behave in idiotic and foolish ways, often finding themselves quoted or captured in some of the biggest tabloids on the planet. To make it in tinsel town all you have to do is open your big mouth, take a deep breath, and say something incredibly stupid.
Isaiah Washington is at it again. He’s not here to say anything new, anything interesting or anything remotely intelligent, he’s here to let you know that he was fired from Grey’s Anatomy. Since the moment it was announced that Grey’s Anatomy was letting Isaiah go after an incident on the set earlier this year, Isaiah has not shut up about it. Now Isaiah is going on to say that he has been fired because of the color of his skin. It has nothing to do with his use of the word fa**ot, and it certainly has nothing to do with the fact that his co workers felt uncomfortable around him, but in the year 2007, where people lose their job’s over this kind of thing… he was fired for being black.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong, and I’m certainly open to the idea of being wrong, but if you get fired for the color of your skin, you can sue the person who fired you. We’re no longer an intolerant society that separates its people by the color of their skin or their personal beliefs. For Isaiah to blame the color of his skin on his departure from Grey’s Anatomy is a little weak in my opinion. Maybe it has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t personally believe in racism, I don’t see the point in it, that I disagree with Isaiah’s statements. It would be like saying the only reason I’m a member of the Star! Daily family is because I’m a homosexual. What makes you different isn’t what separates you as a society, and it isn’t want makes people dislike you, difference draws us together and makes life interesting.
Life isn’t easy and I think that may be the lesson here. Some people are raised in such a manner that they expect everything simply to be handed to them. There are those who are lucky and have everything given to them, and then there are those who work hard, giving blood sweat and tears to get to where they are now. Isaiah Washington needs to realize that he made a mistake. It’s time to take responsibility for your actions. You said and did things you probably shouldn’t have done, and because of that, you’re trying to blame everyone else for making you look bad. Not only is that a sign of immaturity, it’s also a sign of weakness. To be a man, and to be taken seriously, you should show that you’re able to take responsibility for your actions.
Is racism really still an issue in our society? Do people still in the year 2007 care what the color of another persons skin is, or their personal beliefs, or care about their cultural background? Maybe in the reality of it all I’m naïve. Perhaps I live in a world that is still racist, sexist, homophobic, and generally ignorant. I thought that was a thing of the past and that we’d moved on into a positive more tolerant time. My parents raised me to not care about the people around me and to just focus on being a better person, perhaps even the best person I can be. They never told me I should blame my sexuality or race for my faults or my mistakes, they told me to learn from them and grow to be a better person.
Isaiah Washington is going to have a tough time ahead of him, and it may be even tougher for him to shut up about it. There’s a time to complain, a time to cry, and a time to take the high road and learn from your errors. We’ve all screwed up, we’ve all done things we regret, unfortunately, we don’t all have the ability to place the race card to explain it. I don’t believe his race had anything to do with it, but I do believe that this may be the straw that broke Isaiah’s back. Maybe he’s not a homophobe, and maybe everyone on the planet hates him… but the one thing I do know for sure, is that we all just want him to shut up and go away.
Sean (Life would be a lot easier if we’d all just get along… )
