I feel bad for John Travolta and his faux pas at the Oscar’s for mispronouncing the singer’s name. I guarantee when he realized his mistake, he was horrified and apologized for it.  In fact I looked it up, yes, he was in fact, beating himself up over it.

People continue to belittle and make fun of this person because he is a celebrity and he made an embarrassing mistake.  It’s been over-the-top badgering of another human being who did nothing intentionally cruel.  He made a mistake.  This is a man who has had to endure the incredible loss of his son just a few years ago.  I have close friends who work with him daily.  My daughter Sydney has met him, and I’ve heard nothing but the kindest words about his character. He has a genuine love for people and is always the first to offer help.

So I was at a loss, and frankly, I was saddened by the easy potshots people have been taking at this man in the media and on Facebook.

I shared my thoughts with one of my best friends, Linda LeBrock, who noted, “This is the society we live in. And it’s not pretty. Why all the buzz about Leo Di Caprio not winning. How many memes out there making fun of Leo. Why? What does this do for us. Are we jealous? Is our own financial stress making us resent others who are successful? It’s not exactly an appeal to our better angels to take such enormous pleasure in the sufferings or set backs of others.”

She then said, “Go Pammy, ‘promote (practice) kindness. Whenever possible. And it’s always possible.’ –Dali Lama”

So in the immortal words of Elvis Costello I ask, “What’s so funny about peace love and understanding?”

NOTHING.

So here now I share just a couple of amazing stories to counter balance the lack of empathy I’ve been witnessing and I hope this raises our collective spirits to be more understanding and not take joy in the mistakes or miseries of others.

The Hospital allowed this lady’s cat to visit her during her last day on earth.

Homeless man ‘wins’ Lottery and the first thing he wants to do is share the money with others.

A little 8 year old girl in her final days with leukemia had a dying wish to meet Taylor Swift (who did a video chat with her) and to have some people come by and sing Christmas caroles.  The next evening people started to arrive.  First there were a hundred, then a thousand then there were about 10,000 people on the street singing to her.  Too sick to sit up, she gave two thumbs up.  Six days later, she passed away on December 26, 2013 at 3:10 am with her family and friends surrounding her.

Did you know there is actually an organization called “The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation”?    Inspiring people to practice kindness and pass it on to others.

If you know me, you know that I ain’t a saint and I’ll admit I’ve laughed out loud at videos of someone slipping on ice or running into a tree (not seriously injured of course). I find a lot of the “Sick Bastard” mimes incredibly funny, and the Huffington Post is always good for a laugh or two including posing the question, “Do you really want to put that in your mouth?” to the picture of a flaming hot Cheeto which looks suspiciously like a man masturbating. (See?  Now that’s funny!)

My intention is not to shame anyone who has taken these easy potshots. I get it, you think you’re making others laugh.  But celebrities are real people.  Having worked in radio and on a music and entertainment magazine in Los Angeles, I’ve met my fair share of them.  They are people first and they hurt and have feelings like the rest of us “normal folk.”

I would like to end this post with another one if you dare, written by Dana Reinhardt about Robert Downey Jr.

Please take another five minutes to read a story about her brief encounter with this incredible celebrity who has fought true demons and his bouts with drug addiction.  It’s the final line of her story that got to me most:
http://www.tickld.com/x/even-robert-downey-jr-is-humanand-heres-why