>>People have been waiting around for hours
>>to catch a glimpse of anyone famous.
>Did you ask any of them why they are doing so? What
>rationale did they provide? I have never understood this
>and am puzzled by such behavior.
Like Mike Palij, I've always been puzzled why people wait around for
hours to get a fleeting glimpse of someone famous passing by, whether
it be a film star or Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth I of Scotland :-) ).
Could one factor be the experience of being part of crowd engaging in a
common purpose?
The way I see reflected glory coming into it is that the spectator can
regale friends and family with having been there and seen X in person.
But I think it would be presumptuous to think that people who enjoy
this necessarily have something lacking in their lives that "we" who
don't engage in such activities do not lack. ("We" no doubt would enjoy
telling friends we happened to meet/see a different kind of celebrity,
e.g., a well-known author.)
Allen Esterson
Former lecturer, Science Department
Southwark College, London
allenester...@compuserve.com
http://www.esterson.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Mike Palij <m...@nyu.edu>
Subject: re: Chelsea Madness - psychological angle?
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:33:36 -0400
On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:00:03 -0700, Michael Britt wrote:
>No doubt everyone has heard that Chelsea Clinton is getting
>married today in Rhinebeck, New York.
Really? Last I heard it was a runor. Do you have some
factual information that has not been released to the media?
It is not unusual in cases of celebrity marriages (as well as
mundane marriages), for a wedding announcement to be
publicly made, typically in a local newspaper. Is there
such a announcement in either local Rhinebeck or natianal
papers or news sources? The NY Daily News has noted
the local's unhappiness with not being "in the loop"; see:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/28/2010-07-28_chelseas_big_day_riles_local_yokels.html
Makes one wonder why so many people would interested in
what is essentially a private family event? Now that's something
that requires a psychological explanation!
>Well, that's my hometown so it's pretty nutty around here
>with all the celebrity-spotting and no-fly zone stuff going on.
>People have been waiting around for hours to catch a glimpse
>of anyone famous.
Did you ask any of them why they are doing so? What
rationale did they provide? I have never understood this
and am puzzled by such behavior. Then again, I'm a native
New Yorker and we're programmed at an early age to
develop such an attitude. ;-)
>Rumor had it that Oprah stopped by at a well known ice cream
>stop called the "Holy Cow" to get an ice cream. That piece
>of news was making the rounds.
>
>I was in the middle of the fray yesterday with my camera
>wondering if there is a psychological angle to all this.
Well, one thing that it shows people's tendency to rely upon
gossip and rumor as "valid" sources of information instead of
relying on factual sources of information. Instead of deciding
to believe in "propositions" that they have verified to some
degree of certainty, they rely upon any information no matter
how baseless. For example, how much will the "Clinton Wedding"
cost? Is it:
a) $US 1 million
b) $US 3 million
c) $US 5 million
d) no one knows because, if it does occur, the actual costs
won't be known until all expenses, expected and unexpected,
have been tallied
e) it's none of your damned business, it's a private family function!
By the way, will you be tweeting the event? :-)
-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu
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