Last night, the 1980s pop icon Madonna tweeted the following:
“The Patriarchy continues to try to crush my neck with their heavy boots, cut off my life force and take away my voice—Even those who call themselves artists..............You know who you are!!! DEATH TO THE PATRIARCHY! Now and Forever. #riskwhatyouvalue #valuewhatyourisk”
In a series of rebuttal tweets, I wrote:
“It is truly unimaginable what you must have endured over the past 35+ years as a largely unknown woman, shackled by patriarchal forces that never permitted you to shine. I drove to Toronto with my cousin in 1985 to see you. I now regret it.”
“Dear Yazidi women: Enough with your whining. If you wish to see what a truly heroic victim is, look no further than Noble Madonna. The suffering that she endured at the hand of the patriarchy is unconscionable. And yet she persevered in her Malibu mansion unlike you whiners.”
“Yes, you've taken incalculable risks in building a multibillion dollar empire via the repeated self-exploitation of your own sexuality. Those women in the Middle East who cannot express their individual dignity are nothing compared to you. You are the true hero.”
"Instead of playing the faux-victim card, why don’t you show some gratitude to the great societies that have allowed you to flourish? The US is hardly an evil cabal of the patriarchy. Don’t make me @Sethrogen you. Stay classy.” [I added this tweet after having posted the original article as I had forgotten to include it.]
I also shared with her my SAAD TRUTH clip (based on an earlier Psychology Today article that I had published) titled "The Narcissism and Grandiosity of Celebrities."
I truly cannot stomach the most privileged members of society using their platforms to repeatedly engage in orgiastic Collective Munchausen. Have some grace. Exhibit some gratitude. Recognize that you have had more opportunities afforded to you than 100 million women collectively have had in other regions of the world where the patriarchy truly does keep them down. Show some humility. Age with dignity. Learn about the world. Extirpate the narcissism that runs through your entitled veins.
Source for Image: https://bit.ly/2ZNrrTf