Why the Paris Hilton Jail Debacle is Worthy of the Media Coverage It Received
Timothy Sexton
June 10, 2007
I have made no secret of my belief that the American mainstream media no longer has any credibility. In fact, I have written a few articles defending Associated Content’s credibility by comparing it to the so-called reliable news organizations like the 24 hour cable news channels and such respected newspapers as The New York Times (ome of the second most infamous plagiarist in American history). You know the ones I’m talking about; those members of the mainstream media in America who were giving 24/7 coverage to such stories of vital national interest as Natalee Holloway and Scott Peterson instead of picking up the phone and asking a few questions and getting all the information they would have needed to nail the big fat asses of Bush and Cheney to wall for lying about everything connected with homeland security and Iraq. (It is important to remember that in the year and a half following 9/11 homeland security and Iraq were two completely separate issues. Remember those halcyon days when we were all outside playing with our Hula-Hoops and chewing cigarette-shaped gum and thinking how nice it was that Saddam Hussein was successful in keeping Al-Queda out of Iraq?) Much consternation was expressed over the amount of coverage given to Paris Hilton’s release and re-entry to jail and the outcry was loud and firm in the collective belief that though it was hard to change the channel, this was simply not news.
I beg to differ.
In fact, the hubbub over Paris Hilton’s release is the only newsworthy thing with which the pampered little brat has ever been involved. Paris Hilton’s release from jail was important enough to warrant the voluminous amount of coverage it received. The only problem is that the mainstream media reportage, as usual, completely buried the whole point. By focusing on the debate over whether Paris Hilton should have been jail in the first place, or whether the L.A. Sheriff has such a hard-on for celebrities that he routinely gives them free passes or, especially, how Paris’ skillfully made-up face became streaked with the tears of realization that she really isn’t better than everyone else, what occurred was that the mainstream media missed yet another chance to show just how flawed America really is.
That shouldn’t be surprising. After all, it’s very difficult to collude with the government in creating a sense of superiority strong enough to justify the belief that your country is the solution to the utter ignorance of the rest of the world once consciousness kicks in and you notice the emperor is not only naked, but he has a really little weenie. Think about it for a second. How can a country that has a legal system that is based on the entitlement of wealth actually have the gall to tell another country they should either fix their problems or face weapons of mass destruction?
The Paris Hilton debacle should be covered by the mainstream media and in depth. But what little Katie Couric and beady-eyed Joe Scarborough and backstabber extraordinaire Charles Gibson should be focusing on is not how many drunk driving deaths occur in America. This isn’t an issue of whether Paris Hilton’s crime deserved jail time; of course, it did. In fact, she should have—like every other DUI who is convicted, including Mel Gibson—been jailed for six months right then. We all know drunk driving is an even more serious crime than bringing a gun to school and never taking it out of your backpack. And we all know nothing will come of it; lame punishments will continue to be handed out to drunk drivers. No, the real meat of the Paris Hilton issue has to do with the inequalities of the American system. Rich people get special treatment. No surprise there, but rarely is there the chance to frame that vital fact of American life in such a glaring and obvious manner as the Hilton case has offered. We all know the American legal system is a corruption of the democratic ideals on which his country was founded, but we have become so cynically accepting of it as a natural fact of life that it only when something like the Paris Hilton case slaps us upside the head that we take notice. That Paris Hilton was quickly released from jail is on exactly the same sphere as corporate criminals who ruin the lives of thousands of their employees anre receive a slap on the wrist while some poor black kid facing no future at all is tossed for life into jail for committing three robberies that netted him a few thousand dollars. (I’m not saying the robber shouldn’t be punished; just that the punishments of both criminals should be equitable.)
That Paris Hilton happens to be white is not the issue either. Just ask O.J. Simpson if being being black is a handicap when you also happen to be rich and famous. Of course, the Juice will lie and have his lawyer call you a racist merely for asking the question, but the look in his eyes will tell you all you need to know: It is a GOOD to be rich in America, no matter what color you are. Halle Berry knows. How many poor black women, even if they do look like Halle, get to avoid serious punishment after being involved in a hit and run and then having the nerve to show up in court wrapped in bandages like a mummy and playing the role of victim? Ask Scooter Libby. The man is a convicted felon and he’s still free to roam around. Try to find a convicted convenience store thief who is granted the privilege of trying to get Pres. Bush to pardon him while he relaxes on his leather sofa in front of his large screen plasma TV.
The Paris Hilton case, unfortunately, has too many elements of the sensational to it that the brainless wonders who run the American mainstream media cannot resist. When you add that to the fact that the rich white guys who own these conglomerates regularly hobnob with Paris’ family, is there any reason left to question why they have studiously avoided the really newsworthy element to this story and instead have offered up one distracting non-issue after another?
I beg to differ.
In fact, the hubbub over Paris Hilton’s release is the only newsworthy thing with which the pampered little brat has ever been involved. Paris Hilton’s release from jail was important enough to warrant the voluminous amount of coverage it received. The only problem is that the mainstream media reportage, as usual, completely buried the whole point. By focusing on the debate over whether Paris Hilton should have been jail in the first place, or whether the L.A. Sheriff has such a hard-on for celebrities that he routinely gives them free passes or, especially, how Paris’ skillfully made-up face became streaked with the tears of realization that she really isn’t better than everyone else, what occurred was that the mainstream media missed yet another chance to show just how flawed America really is.
That shouldn’t be surprising. After all, it’s very difficult to collude with the government in creating a sense of superiority strong enough to justify the belief that your country is the solution to the utter ignorance of the rest of the world once consciousness kicks in and you notice the emperor is not only naked, but he has a really little weenie. Think about it for a second. How can a country that has a legal system that is based on the entitlement of wealth actually have the gall to tell another country they should either fix their problems or face weapons of mass destruction?
The Paris Hilton debacle should be covered by the mainstream media and in depth. But what little Katie Couric and beady-eyed Joe Scarborough and backstabber extraordinaire Charles Gibson should be focusing on is not how many drunk driving deaths occur in America. This isn’t an issue of whether Paris Hilton’s crime deserved jail time; of course, it did. In fact, she should have—like every other DUI who is convicted, including Mel Gibson—been jailed for six months right then. We all know drunk driving is an even more serious crime than bringing a gun to school and never taking it out of your backpack. And we all know nothing will come of it; lame punishments will continue to be handed out to drunk drivers. No, the real meat of the Paris Hilton issue has to do with the inequalities of the American system. Rich people get special treatment. No surprise there, but rarely is there the chance to frame that vital fact of American life in such a glaring and obvious manner as the Hilton case has offered. We all know the American legal system is a corruption of the democratic ideals on which his country was founded, but we have become so cynically accepting of it as a natural fact of life that it only when something like the Paris Hilton case slaps us upside the head that we take notice. That Paris Hilton was quickly released from jail is on exactly the same sphere as corporate criminals who ruin the lives of thousands of their employees anre receive a slap on the wrist while some poor black kid facing no future at all is tossed for life into jail for committing three robberies that netted him a few thousand dollars. (I’m not saying the robber shouldn’t be punished; just that the punishments of both criminals should be equitable.)
That Paris Hilton happens to be white is not the issue either. Just ask O.J. Simpson if being being black is a handicap when you also happen to be rich and famous. Of course, the Juice will lie and have his lawyer call you a racist merely for asking the question, but the look in his eyes will tell you all you need to know: It is a GOOD to be rich in America, no matter what color you are. Halle Berry knows. How many poor black women, even if they do look like Halle, get to avoid serious punishment after being involved in a hit and run and then having the nerve to show up in court wrapped in bandages like a mummy and playing the role of victim? Ask Scooter Libby. The man is a convicted felon and he’s still free to roam around. Try to find a convicted convenience store thief who is granted the privilege of trying to get Pres. Bush to pardon him while he relaxes on his leather sofa in front of his large screen plasma TV.
The Paris Hilton case, unfortunately, has too many elements of the sensational to it that the brainless wonders who run the American mainstream media cannot resist. When you add that to the fact that the rich white guys who own these conglomerates regularly hobnob with Paris’ family, is there any reason left to question why they have studiously avoided the really newsworthy element to this story and instead have offered up one distracting non-issue after another?
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