Paris sera toujours Paris!

In her comment to my last posting, lovely Wylie instructed me to write about drivel for a change but at the risk of disappointing her, I wish to write about something very serious, namely the parlous state of the U.S. Justice system – or at least part of it.  I refer, of course, to the imminent incarceration of poor Paris Hilton.

Has the country gone mad?  Didn’t the judge realize that she is a celebrity, and therefore shouldn’t be treated like ordinary people?  She gave a perfectly reasonable defence, to my mind, that her publicist told her that the suspension of her driver’s license didn’t apply all the time – unlike it would to an ordinary person – and that therefore she didn’t really do anything wrong.  The very idea that she should serve time is abhorrent.  I know that’s what’s written into the law, but obviously there was an unspoken intention that the law wouldn’t apply to celebrities.

There is ample precedent. Martha Stewart went inside for a few months, and then was confined to her home for some months more, after taking part in a deception that netted her about forty-five thousand dollars.  I expect that you or I, dishonestly acquiring forty-five thousand dollars, would receive a jail term somewhat longer than hers.  Then there was Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic meltdown while driving drunk, which I have written about elsewhere.  Then Russell Crowe’s phone hurling incident. And not so long ago Naomi Campbell slapped someone upside the head with her cell phone.  She was given five day’s community service but I’m glad to see that the poor girl was able to mitigate the severity of that sentence by turning the whole thing into a photo opportunity and was reportedly paid thousands of dollars for wearing designer clothes while she swept the streets. That was a very clever way of getting back at the court that had dared to try to punish her, even as weakly as that one did.

So why this barbaric cruelty to Paris Hilton.  Forty five days in jail -- what are they thinking?  I was heartened to see that her supporters were able to find twenty thousand people to sign an e-petition demanding her freedom, and she herself submitted a statement to the court saying that she deserves consideration because through her activities she brightens so many “mundane” lives. Well, I for one know that many times when things look bad I just remember what Paris has been up to lately and the sun comes out from behind the clouds, and life seems worthwhile once more.  Reason enough, wouldn’t you agree, to let her go free? 

Yes, they have cut her sentence by half, and she will be serving her time in isolation, so she won’t have to mix with people who, outside prison, actually wonder where their next  meal is coming from, so there is little danger that she will be contaminated by reality, but she did promise that she would “pay complete attention to everything from now on” – including, no doubt, whether her license has been suspended or not.  That’s good enough for me. It should be good enough for the sadists in the justice system.  Never mind Iraq, Dafur, global warming, poverty or healthcare; here is an issue that we can all get behind.  Free Paris!

.

.

Comments

[EuroPosh]

I bet you $10 that very soon we're gonna see Paris in Jail: The Simple Life.

[Sophisticated Writer]

Paris Hilton is pathetic in my opinion, Nicholas. She's and will do anything in her power for fame. Really, who's Paris Hilton? She's a lousy actress, failing singer and let's not say more. I despise her because this is a real example of how far some people are willing to go to be noticed. So really she's far from a simple life... an artificial one perhaps.

[Wylie Kinson]

Ah Nicholas - finally a good old post about drivel. Nothing to bang my head over in disgust at the human race. No social injustice to make my blood boil.

Then again...

I wish Angelina would take Paris, Nicole, Lindsay, Britney (have I missed anyone?) on her next visit to the refugee camps for a taste of The Simple Life: Without Food or Dignity.

Next time ice cream, kay? :)

[Ali]

Nicholas, I have to say, I was reading that entry, waiting for the punch line... which never came. If more celebrities were punished like us 'ordinary' folk, maybe they wouldn't be so high and mighty, but thats just my opinion!!!

[Wylie Kinson]

Ali - I think the punch line was lost in the sarcasm ;)

[Beth]

You know I love this post. I think that no one should be held above the law, no matter what status they have. I hope the little blonde twit has to spend time in jail. It's been a long time coming. Some of the high up snobby richy riches need to be held accountable and not pardoned. JMO