In defense of Lindsay Lohan

There are plenty of people bashing celebrity media, calling it out for its voyeuristic, creepy obsession with the lives of people that none of us know personally. There is rarely, if ever, anything written in defense of the kids - mostly young women - who are the victims of this type of reporting though. The media just offers more kicks in the ribs and quotes from washed up old fucks who aren't relevant anymore, in between their self-righteous calling out of readers and viewers who get off on the same celeb gossip they dish out.

Although I'm sure there are plenty of people who had their lives completely together in their early 20's, there are just as many if not more who didn't. That is a really hard time for a good percentage of us (how many of you would re-live your 20's?) but imagine trying to live them with cameras and reporters following you around 24/7.

Young adulthood is about finding yourself, your career, your purpose, and trying out different things to help get those answers about life. It's about rebelling against your parents and all other things "old" and finding your own way. It's a time for screwing up and learning from your mistakes, and hopefully having family and friends who will be there to catch you when you do make big mistakes.

Remember your early 20's and then imagine having people you've never met and will most likely never meet diss on you because you aren't a role model for their 12 year old girl. How many young people have it in them to be an infallible role model for an entire country, or in these days an entire world of girls? How many of us in our 30's or 40's be infallible role models?

This isn't to say that Lohan and company's behavior should be rewarded or emulated by other young adults, but publishing hateful and judgmental stories about them, showing photos of lewd and unattractive behavior, and soliciting judgments from assholes on Larry King (or wherever) is inexcusable. It can only make the problem for these girls worse, having to see their name in print or hear it on the TV along with words like "slut" or "loser" or "hopeless."

It's interesting that it's the young female stars who bear the brunt of this abuse. It's hard to believe that the Jonas Brothers are saints, or that Justin Bieber never drinks a little too much or takes advantage of his 3% of all Twitter volume status, or that Zac Ephron has never shown his ass. Don't get me wrong - that shouldn't be reported either, but why is it that it's the young women are the ones abused by the media most often? Why do so many mid-western moms expect these women who have grown up in the media to remain little girls out of respect for their own little girls? They are women and deserve to grow up, experience life, screw up, and learn. Just like the rest of us.

So stop and think the next time you call Lindsay a whore, or the next time you think that Britney is a crazy bitch, or when you think that Miley Cyrus is a little too big for her britches with all her clubbing and having fun. No one plays "Duck Duck Goose" forever, no one listens to Disney soundtracks forever, and no one can sanely handle living their lives - especially through adolescence and young adulthood - with the entire world watching and judging them. Be a role model, yourself, and let these women grow up, evolve, do their jobs and live their lives.