To Joe Sixpack, the G8 summit is a hopelessly abstracted class issue. But Hilton's special treatment is an immediate and tangible example of how there are different standards for folks of different classes, and quite frankly it's infuriating. It reminds me of something I read about General Electric and NBC, who are both the same company, and who have at least 7 criminal convictions in their history -- yet they make parts for nuclear weapons and own a lot of the American airwaves. Would a poor black guy with 7 criminal convictions be able to make nukes and own a TV station? The Hilton double-standard aspect is partly what makes this issue incendiary.
Unfortunately part of it is also because many cultural conservatives want to see her get a come-uppance for her porn thing. I could care less about that. But 3 days in jail because of a fragile mental condition (or "medical condition") is bullshit when studies have shown a large majority of prisoners have mental problems, which are also technically medical problems, too.
-B.
Ismail Lagardien wrote:
"I listened, to a Sirius broadcast, 'Talk Left,' very briefly yesterday. I forgot whom; name was Alex, or something... He made the argument that the Paris Hilton imprisonment (then release) was not news, that it was "entertainment". He also made the argument that sports was not entirely news, but in part entertainment. I suspect it had to do with the fact that CNN cut from G8, or something, to the Hilton thing.