Postcards from the Funny Farm

I think Britney Spears is giving rehab a bad name. Rehab facilities, or drug treatment centers, are places That we humans create and maintain to help people get off drugs and to make something out of their messed up lives. They should be an equalizer for celebrities. By that I mean, they should be treated no differently than anyone less in that situation. Britney Spears has made these places appear “ineffectual” and even silly. Non-celebrities can get their lives together and create something for themselves through these places, but the public doesn’t hear about that. Instead they hear about celebrities like Britney Spears who are making a mockery of these valuable institutions for their own gain.

Then you have the mental health hospital. Britney has done her number on that one as well. Is nothing sacred to riches? One would think that when Brit’s problems de-escalated to being hospitalized on a 5150, meaning she was deemed a danger to herself or others, that she would have been humiliated and accepted the treatment they were offering. I heard on a news show that she was not even held the legal 72 hours. I guess if you are famous, the standard rules don’t apply.

I think rehab and psychiatry do a lot for our society. We shouldn’t discount their merits just because of what celebrities do with them. I suppose to their they are tools and toys to be used in their grand “canvas” they are always maintaining of their public image.

Meanwhile, to the average person in the world, they are valuable institutions that should be respected.