Last night, dangerous criminal Paris Hilton was transferred from a county jail to home custody after serving three days of her 23 day sentence. If the entertainment media on MSNBC video and Bill O'Reilly of Fox are any barometer, the nation is "outraged" about the "favoritism" showed Ms. Hilton.
But of course, there wasn't any favoritism. According to John Patrick Dolan, anybody except Paris Hilton who was arrested in LA for violating a parole on a reckless driving charge would have been fined $100 and been able to go home. Paris Hilton got 45 days reduced to 23 days reduced to 3 days in jail and 40 days of home incarceration because she's Paris Hilton.
The whole Paris Hilton legal episode has been a show trial to demonstrate how tough we are on celebrities. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears are particular targets because the entertainment media has made the lives of these women into an on-going rape trial. Given that Ms. Hilton's guilt for "living like that" is assumed, it was inevitable that she would sooner or later run afoul of the law and that pressure would build for her incarceration.
But what has Paris Hilton done? She's essentially a model (check out the videos) who has built the circulation of a sex tape and "news" about her partying and dating into a consumer brand. Obviously Ms. Hilton has been an active participant in making her life a spectacle but she does no harm other than offending an audience that's looking to be offended.
I'm glad she's out.
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3 comments:
Ric,
Great blog - but I have to disagree with you on this one. Hilton's notoriety and money may have given her a harsher sentence than someone else due to overcrowding in LA prisons, but she did commit the serious crime of driving on a suspended license (suspended for DUI no less) and then making up a ridiculous cover story.
I really don't see this as having been a show trial - her offenses were cut and dry and I think serious enough to warrant time in prison. She wasn't found guilty because she has a promiscuous lifestyle but rather because she commited a crime and then violated the terms of her original sentence.
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you like the blog. I couldn't find the post, but I had started blogging about how the paparazzi had turned the lives of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan into one long rape trial in which these women were found guilty on an everyday basis. My analysis of Paris Hilton's jail sentence and her being returned to jail followed from that premise.
Steve, I checked out your blog and like it a great deal. I especially liked the post on the Business Week article on corporate offshoring. I'm not very strong on that kind of analysis myself.
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