Paris and the big ugly
I'm no fan of Paris Hilton. I too occasionally ask myself the question that many have asked out loud: "why is this person famous?" To me, she's not even very attractive, if that is enough of a reason. But actually, most of the time I just don't think about her at all. I've seen "The Simple Life" (or fragments thereof) a few times. There were some chuckles. It was lightly entertaining. I wouldn't seek it out.
But I've got to say, the gleeful reaction from many people last week, as she was hauled back to jail crying, left a rotten taste in my mouth. There are a couple of bloggy examples here and here, but I suspect you already know what I'm talking about.
Sure she's irritating. But have we all become so 'feral' (in the words of our illustrious outgoing PM) as to turn a couple of DUI arrests into the familiar, raging, 24-hour, cable-news celebrity hypefest? Complete with the great unwashed mobs howling for the punishment? Al Gore is right on this point: We all need to focus a little bit. For example, the Middle East currently seems to be imploding, and we appear to have put ourselves at the center of it.
I know people thought that this was becoming an example of "celebrity justice". I understand people were outraged that a 45-day jail sentence looked like it was going to turn into 45 days of lounging around the pool, and partying at Chez Paris. But, okay, in the grand scheme of things? Was it that important? Were we really still under that misapprehension that everyone gets equal justice, anyway?
Maybe it's sexist of me, but when I saw the photos of Paris Hilton crying I had the opposite reaction. The sight of a young, apparently troubled, scared girl being hauled off to jail in tears doesn't make me feel happy. Some people enjoy seeing others brought low. Thankfully, I don't get much satisfaction from that, most of the time.
I wasn't even going to bother writing this, as I'd let the moment pass and it wasn't such a big deal after all. But today, Christopher Hitchens has published a piece that prompted me to add my bit. (Wow, I seem to be agreeing with this guy a lot lately, now that he's mostly given up talking about Iraq):
Back in University in Canada, whilst sitting around discussing some silly (now forgotten) issue that had everyone all excited, a Lebanese friend related how his father, who had lived through the previous civil war in Lebanon, would say "what this place needs is a good war". Maybe a couple of overseas wars aren't enough. Maybe we need one closer to home. Well, not really of course. But we could probably all do a little better at focusing on what's important in life.
But let's start with a little humanity. Making Paris Hilton cry should be very low on our collective to-do list.
But I've got to say, the gleeful reaction from many people last week, as she was hauled back to jail crying, left a rotten taste in my mouth. There are a couple of bloggy examples here and here, but I suspect you already know what I'm talking about.
Sure she's irritating. But have we all become so 'feral' (in the words of our illustrious outgoing PM) as to turn a couple of DUI arrests into the familiar, raging, 24-hour, cable-news celebrity hypefest? Complete with the great unwashed mobs howling for the punishment? Al Gore is right on this point: We all need to focus a little bit. For example, the Middle East currently seems to be imploding, and we appear to have put ourselves at the center of it.
I know people thought that this was becoming an example of "celebrity justice". I understand people were outraged that a 45-day jail sentence looked like it was going to turn into 45 days of lounging around the pool, and partying at Chez Paris. But, okay, in the grand scheme of things? Was it that important? Were we really still under that misapprehension that everyone gets equal justice, anyway?
Maybe it's sexist of me, but when I saw the photos of Paris Hilton crying I had the opposite reaction. The sight of a young, apparently troubled, scared girl being hauled off to jail in tears doesn't make me feel happy. Some people enjoy seeing others brought low. Thankfully, I don't get much satisfaction from that, most of the time.
I wasn't even going to bother writing this, as I'd let the moment pass and it wasn't such a big deal after all. But today, Christopher Hitchens has published a piece that prompted me to add my bit. (Wow, I seem to be agreeing with this guy a lot lately, now that he's mostly given up talking about Iraq):
At some point toward the middle of last Friday, it seemed to me, one was being made a spectator to a small but important injustice. Those gloating and jeering headlines, showing a tearful child being hauled back to jail, had the effect of making me feel sick. So, you finally got the kid to weep on camera? Are you happy now?Well said.
Back in University in Canada, whilst sitting around discussing some silly (now forgotten) issue that had everyone all excited, a Lebanese friend related how his father, who had lived through the previous civil war in Lebanon, would say "what this place needs is a good war". Maybe a couple of overseas wars aren't enough. Maybe we need one closer to home. Well, not really of course. But we could probably all do a little better at focusing on what's important in life.
But let's start with a little humanity. Making Paris Hilton cry should be very low on our collective to-do list.
posted by Andy at 5:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home