britney spears was on dateline and people wondered if they were stuck in a time warp

So last night, a very special episode of "Dateline" aired in which fallen pop-princess Britney Spears addresses issues that have been hitting the tabloids recently, such as her failing marriage, her manny/bodyguard (word to Kevin Costner), and her parenting skills.

I don't really want to give this chick any more press than she really deserves, but let's go back to that last issue. So a while back, Spears was photographed driving with her 6-month-old kid on her lap, weeks later, she brought the kid into the hospital because he fell out of his high chair, which was followed by a visit from California's Department of Family Services. As of two weeks ago, Spears again nearly harmed her son while going out with him, holding drinks in one hand (?), and almost dropped him before muttering "This is why people carry guns" to all the photographers. Oh, and there was that whole incident of driving around with the car seat improperly installed.

During the interview, Spears said "People a lot of times think that because you're a celebrity, you're taken care of more. In some situations, people -- you get it worse."

Here's my two cents (among the many pennies that people who have more credibility than me have thrown in): Of course you're going to get it worse, you're a public figure!

On top of that, if you live in the public eye and you're visibly being an idiot with your child, you have every right to be scrutinized. If it was any person who was not a celebrity who might've made the mistakes that Spears has made, their kid would've been gone by at least the second incident, yet she still retains custody of her son.

Spears' lack of parenting skills is a testament that celebrities will always receive better treatment than the rest of us, that they will, essentially, get away with murder (word to OJ). If tabloids and the people buying up those magazines have made her question her abilities as a parent, well then maybe she should take in to consideration that maybe it will make her a better parent, if not cautious.

But then again, she's about to pop out another spawn to unleash to the public, so who knows? We'll probably have at least another two years of this crap to deal with before she retreats and becomes the female version of Marlon Brando.

Without the Oscar, mind you.

[related links]

Matt Lauer Vs. Britney (Where's Stone Philips?)