If you’re a regular reader of my posts, you’ll know that I have no respect for any of the Kardashian litter, Kim, Khloe or Kourtney. I’ve always said that the exploits of these three useless twits, the offspring of OJ’s now deceased attorney/friend, Robert Kardashian, is payback for his actions when he met with OJ after Nicole’s murder which resulted in the quick activation of his dormant legal status.
Like it or not, you have to recognize that they and their mother, Kris Jenner, have a huge impact on popular culture with television shows, clothing lines, perfumes, and over 14 million followers on Twitter.
Unless you’ve been living on another planet, you probably know that Kim became famous because of a sex tape ending up on the internet. Other than her initial “exposure” (excuse the pun), courtesy of her ex-boyfriend, she became famous for absolutely no reason but has brilliantly elevated her “celebrity” to new heights and now heads a media empire and is worth approximately $35 million.
And if you’ve been on a grocery line this past week, you’ll also know that Kim just got engaged to Nets basketball player, Kris Humphries. I don’t know anything about sports so I had no idea who he is, but I do know that the engagement ring that was given to Kim was a 20.5 carat diamond ring worth $2 million.
I’m a jewelry snob who loves beautiful diamonds and the ring is exquisite.
That being said, it’s amazing how many people have negatively commented about the cost of the ring. Last week, Bill O’Reilly, on his Pinheads and Patriots segment, labeled Kim a “pinhead” for getting a $2 million engagement ring. In his opinion, “Now, we believe in true love, but that seems to be a bit much. A $1 million ring would have been nice, and then you could have used the other million to help people who need assistance. Ms. Kardashian and Mr. Humphries are pinheads.”
Numerous comments echoed Mr. O’Reilly’s feelings. “There are millions of people who are out of jobs who can’t make ends meet, and we have to hear about these people who never worked hard a day in their lives spending extravagantly like this?”
One person wrote, “[t]hat is the stupidest amount of money to waste on a ring. If you can afford to pay $2,000,000.00 on a damn ring, you have TOO MUCH money and are TOO STUPID to do anything useful with it….THEREFORE, should not have it. End of story.”
Well, I’m sure these comments are sincere but, hey, whose money was used to buy the ring? Not tax dollars and not a government grant! Who am I to question how someone else chooses to spend their money? Whatever way they earned it, whether well-deserved or otherwise, it’s their money!
I wonder if the folks complaining about Kim’s engagement ring (other than O’Reilly who regularly opposes government waste) feel the same way about our government funding programs like Planned Parenthood, NPR, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or wasting our tax dollars on ridiculous studies like $1.44 million to study male prostitutes in Vietnam; $823,200 to study genitalia washing in South Africa or $315,000 for a study suggesting playing Farmville on Facebook helps adults develop and maintain relationships.
The difference between the two is that Kim/Kris purchased the engagement ring with THEIR money. Where’s the outrage when our government squanders hundreds of thousands of dollars to digitize Grateful Dead memorabilia or to analyze and understand the ways in which players of “World of Warcraft” engage in creative collaboration. That’s OUR money being wasted!
When I hear that Kim or Kris are receiving welfare, tax credits which exceed their tax liability, Section 8 housing, or food stamps, which I pay for with my taxes, then I’ll have something to say.
In the meantime, they have the right to spend their money any way they want. If they make any charitable contributions, fine; if not, it’s their choice.
I don’t get the public outcry about how celebrities spend their money nor do I get public apathy about how our government continues to extravagantly spend our tax dollars, but if you do, God bless you.
