Wow - so finally the paparazzi gets everyone's attention by that childish prank of writing on Kristen Stewart's car. Seriously, when's the last time you did that? I was around 12 I think. Though I'm surprised it took so long to make some of you aware of what these "photographers" are capable of, I'm glad. Now maybe some of you will help get the out-of-control paparazzi under control. I'm kind of surprised that it was a car-graffiti incident that got all this attention, because there have been many, many incidents that could be very dangerous, some deadly. Princess Diana died on Aug. 31st, 1997 when the car she was travelling in crashed, being chased by paparazzi. You don't want to see the video. 16 years since that horrible day, yet little has been done to curb the paparazzi. In many cases, they've become even more dangerous.
There are car chase incidents every day in Los Angeles. I don't know the statistics, as the LAPD hasn't been very forthcoming with their data, but I've read many reports in newspapers, etc. of ordinary LA citizens being run off the road, swerving to avoid being hit, almost getting T-boned by paparazzi running red lights, etc. to know that paparazzi are a hazard to drivers on Los Angeles streets. How do they get away with that you ask? Easy. In California, you have up to six months before you have to put a license plate on your new car. 6 MONTHS of getting to drive a vehicle that may as well be invisible. How else could one identify the car that caused them to run off the road?
A physical description? Do you know how many new black SUV's are on the streets of LA? I don't either, but you can be certain it's a lot harder to identify a vehicle by description only, with no license plate. I ran across something while looking up LA traffic data one day, and had to read it again, I was so shocked. The amount of hit-and-run accidents in the entire US, every city, every state, is 11 to 12% of all accidents. The number of hit-and-run accidents in Los Angeles? 48%. Yep. 48% of all accidents in Los Angeles are hit-and-run accidents. Is it some odd coincidence that the city with the highest celebrity population and the highest paparazzi population also has a ridiculously high hit-and-run accident rate? I seriously doubt it. 36% more hit-and-runs than the entire country? If you believe that, then I've got some prime Florida land, right next to the Everglades I'll sell you, or a beautiful bridge in London. Another favorite haunt of the paparazzi is LAX. I will put a video link of just one incident
Can you imagine trying to get your baby through that swarm, just to get to your car? I wonder what all those blinding flashes are doing to that poor baby's eyes! The paparazzi push, shove, jostle, and swing at anything in their way of getting that "money shot" - INCLUDING the average Joe or Jane just trying to make their flight on time. How would you be able to identify him in that chaos? You probably couldn't.
Most of you are familiar with Paparazzi Reform Initiative. If not, and you want to help change the way the paparazzi stalk, taunt, block, flash-blind, etc. AND GET AWAY WITH IT, then please visit their website athttp://www.paparazzi-reform.org/ .
On twitter, (and please follow if you haven't yet) they're @PAPARAZZIReform, and their FB page https://www.facebook.com/PAPARAZZIReform?ref=ts&fref=ts .
There are two new anti-paparazzi bills they've sponsored coming up in California's legislature, and they will need our help to get these bills signed into law. I won't get into the details of each, but one is to protect celebrity children, and the other one is a civil law bill, to further address the stalking of celebrities. That bill would also help domestic violence victims. These bills are fully explained on their website, so please educate yourselves about them.
There are links on their facebook page and website to sign a petition to People magazine, demanding they stop using celebrity children's photos without their parents' permission. Please sign this petition if you haven't already. It could help to show the California legislature that we, as fans, are very unhappy with the way celebrity children are treated in the media. There were only a few hundred signatures when I first signed it, but then it jumped to 500 with a strong push by both PRI and The Plan. However, we can do better than that, can't we? If we can make #WatchBreakingDawnPart2 trend worldwide, imagine what we could do for a petition! A petition that could be the deciding factor when the new anti-paparazzi bills come up for vote. So please, sign the petition - it's NOT just a petition to People magazine, but a petition letting California state government know that we fans are tired of the paparazzi behavior.
Thanks for reading, and always, peace out! Misty