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This is an incredibly dangerous position, all the more dangerous because it doesn't seem so. Fundamentally you are dehumanizing someone. You are denying someone the protections of civilized society, you are refusing to empathize with someone else's suffering. Because their status as famous and/or rich obviates the need for compassion.

And yet, is that even remotely true? Does being rich and famous make someone so much happier and immune from suffering that a little extra suffering here and there (such as invasions of privacy by the paparazzi) still results in net less suffering than the average person? Every indication seems to point toward that not being the case in the vast majority of cases. And there are many indications that the cost of fame can indeed result in significant suffering, as many high profile suicides and overdoses after long battles with drug addiction testify.

Celebrities are just people, they should be treated as such.



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