When the Bieber Bursts...

Justin Bieber is a person. Who would have thought? I always thought that boy bands and singers were just manufactured in some strange studio magic factory that also makes Ken dolls. It seems that Justin Bieber had the audacity to flip off a photographer when leaving a restaurant with his new girlfriend on his birthday dinner date. It appears that his date, Selena Gomez, was hiding her face from an overzealous papparazzo when instead of doing his typical smile and wave, he offered instead the one finger salute. He's since apologized for his actions, but I have to ask: what for?

Let's face it, even though the slick marketing machine around Bieber has kept him squeaky clean in the limelight, it wasn't going to do so forever. The intense interest around the star has resulted in the foregone conclusion that he is public property and has forsaken his right to privacy for life- or until the media loses interest in him. It was just a matter of time before someone caught him in an unflattering or compromising position, either picking his nose or caught between two underage teenage girls in a bar. This is really not as bad as either scenario.

Furthermore, this is probably the most normal thing a person his age can do. He's 17 years old. They flip people off all the time. I'm sure that one of them is flipping off this blog spot right now while they're in the middle of reading it. And why not? It's supposed to be a rebellious stage where you make some headstrong mistakes. It's not necessarily a good time to get tattoos or tequila, but in the long list of teenage offenses, this one's really not all that bad.

And in Hollywood, he's got nothing on anyone. The other stars his age are getting caught in a lot worse and are still going. I doubt that the photographer suffered anything more than hurt feelings. And it's kind of touching in an odd way; he flipped off the photographer after he bothered his girlfriend. In his own way, he's defending his mate. So it's not exactly the stuff that love songs are written about; give him a break.

And then again:

"Oh, baby, I love you so, I love you so, I would even give the finger to any man who dissed you (nobody disrespects my lady, baby)"

It's kind of catchy.

I might have a touch of Bieber fever.