Legalised Media Stalking, Emotional Detachment & Harassment of Princess Diana
I am watching a documentary on the life of Princess Diana and how she was stalked by the media. They would adopt a pinzer movement in pairs seeking to catch her. She was hunted by photographers as the price of a photo was 10,000 pounds.
I was filmed without my permission and I found myself wanting privacy. Can you imagine being filmed everywhere you go. There was no empathy or compassion for her as a human being. The media around her, I observed, were mostly males who clearly didn’t care or didn’t sense her emotional wellbeing. They only had self interest at the centre of their world.
There were scenes where she approached the media and asked them to respect her children’s privacy. That didn’t stop them. She had many pictures taken when she is swimming, revealing her body, men clearly invading her privacy. There is one photo where she has 1,000 photographers around her, she is clearly targeted and hunted. You can see her distress and entrapment. She is a beautiful women maybe there is some desire for them to somehow capture something she has that they don’t. They get drawn to this type of person. Of course money is a primary motivator but there is more to it then money. I don’t think Camilla Parker Bowles would have attracted the same attention had she been even the first wife of Charles. What do you think?
This behaviour makes you think about the emotional detachment of the media. It was evident this is an industry and people are just commodities. It is interesitng that Diana had a real feeling for the poor and suffering and she herself would share that pain of disempowerment. Without body guards and title apparently some men in the media would abuse her and call her a “bitch” or negative words to get a reaction (sells better copy). This was the face of misogyny that has to put down a woman in order to justify their own detachment and cruel behavour. It has the hallmarks of a psychopath and legalised abuse of stalking. It appears the nature and projection of greed.
Her Bulimia appears as the result of abuse given her stress. She herself had been abused by the Royal family and media.
In Australia we have just had an extensive report released on Sexual Harassment and Assault in Universities. I am reflecting on this subject and have had experience. I really can feel and see the same issue for Diana it came to me as an inspired insight, I saw her as a woman not a public figure but another person dealing with abuse and harassment, it made sense to me. In years past I didn’t focus on women’s issues until it came into my reality. I am realising great disparity, inequality and male privilege as a actual phenomenon playing out. I believe the veil is coming off on this subject, women are waking up.
Another indicator of the detachment the papparazi is demonstrated most graphically when Diana had the accident in Paris, apparently when she dying in a crumbled car the journalists kept clicking those cameras, perhaps thinking of how much the shot would be worth not the tragedy and shock of a person dying exploited until the end. There is no respect which means they don’t respect themselves, they sold their souls for profit. How many people have gone that way in this world. They justify their covert or overt violence soothed by the money they will make by ignoring the suffering of another.
Why are the media exempt from criminal charges for harassment and abuse when they breach a person’s privacy and cause them great distress? It is this attitude of entitlement that I am witnessing not only in this story but in sexual harassment and abuse stories. It actually drives to the heart of how women are treated and used as objects. This objectivisation is a mental health issue that is normalised in society as women’s sexualised images are paraded in all forms of media. How would these men feel if the situation was reversed and they were hunted mercilessly and treated as objects not feeling people? They would protest, take legal action, drink and possibly suicide. Emotional disconnection inhibits a detached person from feeling for another, it is dysfunctional. In a normal situation we would naturally stop a behaviour if we felt someone was being hurt, we wouldn’t want that person to suffer. Empathy becomes a shield to causing harm. When people don’t care it is a form of pathology, a psychological anti-social disorder. Yet it is normalised as this is what media do. They have a right to invade privacy as it is in the public interest. Was Diana in a bikini on a beach holidaying with her children in the public interest or an invasion of privacy? This was not official palace business, she was no longer married to Charles. They would say ‘she is famous’, with a smile, as it that entitles them to harass a woman. The public also fuelled this obsession with Diana as they are attracted by photos in magazines, they don’t step back and say “I am not funding this abuse.” They look at her like spectators in a colliseum and then say they love her. Do they deeply think about the reality of her life? The public in their ignorance demanded her image to brighten their lives. I wondered what would happen if Diana wore a Burka or clown suit or perhaps daffy duck, I would have done that for the fun of it. I would have made a public statement that I do not agree to my photo being taken by the media in public as it was causing psychological injury. I wonder legally if that would have opened to law suits? I had the thought last night that she may have believed she had no choice, often those experiencing repeated negative behaviours believe they have no power. That the media are entitled and the reality is they don’t stop. What if she had started her own magazine and wrote about the causes she supported and made comment about media intrusion? What if she became the media? These are thoughts I am playing with as I look for creative ways to take back power.
There is such a focus on her manipulating the media but in truth she took her power back. She chose not to be a victim and I would guess rationaled she couldn’t stop them. She had to find a way to work with them so she could gain something positive for herself or causes. In the peace area we call this flow. If she fights they get worse. This is a form of conflict transformation, perhaps making peace with where she is. The statement she is manipulating is more a reflection of those who labelled her that, how can they see the manipulation? The media itself constantly manipulates to get what it wants. It is ruthless for a story, this motivation underlies the need for recognition, financial reward, ambition etc. She appeared to me to be sensitive and real. She cared about people and felt the connection with others. She appeared a kind person. She would have to be very strong to have kept on without a nervous breakdown. Such incredible pressure. Below is a video of pictures. In this respect a pictures says a thousand words.
In the media today there has been an intense focus on Diana given it is 20 years after she died in Paris. This is coming up in the media today given her anniversary and revelations are being revealed. How she died is contentious and there are many theories. There has been a major revelation on the internet by a MI5 agent indicating he assssinated her as ordered by the Royal family. It is impossible to verify this, only those who know this person could state if he worked in MI5. So hopefully they will come forward and say what they know if it is true. There are issues that the Intelligence community are charged to serve the Royal Family over the public, this in itself is concerning. All power should have checks and balances to ensure abuses of power do not happen. This allegation by a dying MI5 agent is a very serious allegation and if it is true then the question is – are the Royal family above prosecution? Will they be protected? If it is not true, then can a person lie on their death bed and destroy the reputation of people. I write this as I know what it is like to be accused when you are innocent and there is no evidence but heresay. I feel justice is being just to all. However, I also believe if a person has harmed or destroyed another consequences need to happen to awaken those commiting crimes that this is not a statement of who any of us are and we are setting standards of behaviour that serve humanity. I am phrasing it this way very consciously. I am not into punishment or the blame game but reflections of what works and what does. Diana was a humanitarian and I am sure she would support what works for humanity.
This is a video from a former SAS officer indicating information on Diana’s assassination. There will be a range of views on the internet.
If this is true I wonder how her boys feel? I wonder how Britons will feel? It would be devastating. If the boys grandparents are implicated or responsible for Diana’s death how would they deal with it emotionally? Or what if the cause was due to her advocacy against landmines? if it is the landmine issue that precipitated her death then it raises questions about assassinations happening around the world with celebrities who support causes or issues that are deemed a threat to those in power or corporations making profits.
According to the YouTube video on Diana’s assassination indicates a good source is a book written by an Australian, John Morgan, his book titled ‘The Assassination of Princess Diana’.
However we are times right now where truth is arising in a myriad of ways across the world. I am clearly seeing power being challenged as people become disillusioned that is the illusion is crumbling. There is a pincer movement in respect of disillusionment with business as usual and climate change.
What happened to Diana forces you to reflect on the callious disregard for a persons rights, empathy for how that person feels and the threat of those who have secrets to hide. We see this pattern repeating itself over and over. A threat is neutralised, taken out, demonised to ensure power. Yet this is an old paradigm that is dying in truth. We, particularly in the West, have moved so far from warm, natural, spontaneous, sensitive, empathetic relationships which build harmony, community and respect in society expanding out into the world. The media are so transfixed on negative news and what sells given manipulative business interests believing that their interests matter and that the humanity and human rights of another are irrelevant. They are mere obstacles to their objectives, not people who are feeling, caring and sovereign. The latter word is fitting here because the real sovereignty is dignity and self respect which are keys to overcome all abuse.
Perhaps we are moving into times where a Universal Bill of Rights is required as a global standard of ethics and values in harmony with the Declaration of Human Rights. It would serve us to create and implement a Global Culture of Peace where children around the world learn to respect others, feel empathy, understand and integrate values thus honoring the dignity of the human person above profit. This has come to me now in inspiration.
May Diana rest in Peace. Although I sense her spirit is inspiring truth today. No-one in truth ever dies we all live on as life is eternal.