I'm Still Not Buying It

Thought for the day:  The very rich are different from you and me. [F. Scott Fitzgerald]

Yeah, big bucks often make a huge difference in the way people behave, and not always in a positive direction. For some, it's as though they were born with a perpetual winning poker hand stuffed up their sleeve, so they don't even bother to put any effort into playing the game fairly. If they commit a crime, the results too often disprove the axiom that all people are equal under the law.

Lawyers believe a man is innocent until proven broke. [Robin Hall]

Two years ago, I wrote the post I'm Not Buying It, about affluenza, and in particular, how it was successfully used as a defense in a murder trial. If you missed it, or don't remember it, you might want to go check it out before reading this follow-up.

Go ahead... I'll wait.

No? Okay, if you don't want to be bothered to read the earlier post, no biggie. In a nutshell, while inebriated on beer and valium, a sixteen-year-old boy named Ethan Couch killed four people when he plowed his speeding truck into them. Eleven other people were injured, including some of his friends who were in the truck with him, one of whom will be paralyzed for life. But Couch wasn't concerned. He knew he'd get away with it, because he'd gotten away with every other thing he'd ever done. And he was right; essentially, he did get away with it. See, his lawyer claimed a defense of affluenza, and a psychologist testified that the boy was a product of affluenza, and thus, unable to link his bad behavior with consequences because he had been raised to believe wealth buys privilege. And the judge agreed.

The slap-on-the-wrist punishment rubbed me all kinds of the wrong way, and it did the same to a bunch of you who commented, as well. I wrote: If his so-called affliction was caused by a lack of consequences, how exactly does shielding him yet again from the consequences of his behavior cure that affliction? Talk about the ultimate irony. How will "getting out of it" change his behavior?

Turns out, I was right. It hasn't changed his behavior at all, and Couch is back in the news again. He's still in the midst of serving his ten years' probation, (big whoop!) but recently, a video surfaced of him boozing it up and partying wildly with the assistance of a beer bong. Which is, of course, a probation violation, even for someone who's never faced consequences for a damned thing he's ever done before. It seems his mother didn't want her widdle boy to face consequences this time, either. So the two of them skipped town. Skipped the whole country, as a matter of fact. They threw a bon voyage party of a sort, dyed his hair, slapped a fake beard on him, withdrew thirty thousand dollars (pocket change?) out of the bank, and took off for Mexico.

[wikipedia]

They were caught in a luxury hotel in Puerto Vallarta. I guess they thought it'd be safe to use one of their cell phones to order a pizza, huh?

They thought wrong.

However, the story hasn't ended. Although he remains in police custody in Mexico, his high-dollar lawyers are doing everything they can to prevent extradition. No telling how long it'll take before their stalling tactics run out and he's forced to come back to face the music. Maybe. Maybe for the first time in his life, he will have to pay some consequences.

His mama? She's already been sent back to Texas, where she began belly-aching bitterly about the conditions of the jail cell where she was being held. Earlier this week, she was released on bail. I'm sure she appreciates the accommodations of her home a lot more, but she probably isn't too thrilled with her new less-than-fashionable ankle bracelet.

[morguefile]

Because young Couch will be turning eighteen in the spring, the sheriff and district attorney are trying to have his case transferred to the adult court. Then, affluenza or no affluenza, his long string of luck based on his perpetually winning hand of privilege may finally run out, and the only joker left standing may be... him.

So what do you think? Should he be tried as an adult? Serve time in jail? How about his mother? Should she serve time for taking him out of the country?

Ah yes, the rich truly are different. Like a post I saw on Facebook, most of us weren't raised with a case of affluenza... it was more a case of poorlio.

And you know what? I'd say we're all better off for it.





                                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

I'm Not Buying It

Thought for the day:  The very rich are different from you and me.  [F.Scott Fitzgerald]

Well, obviously, people who have enough money to wipe their tushes with hundred-dollar bills have a lot more money than we do, but that isn't the only thing that sets them apart from the rest of us. Numerous studies have shown that the wealthy tend to behave differently, too. And many of them have attitudes of entitlement.

For example, consider these tidbits gleaned from Jim Winokur's book The Rich Are Different: 

*  When Christina Onassis got thirsty, she ordered Diet Coke... to be flown to her by private jet.
* Ivana Trump hated to see footprints on the carpet in her house. In fact, she hated it so much, she wouldn't even enter a room unless the rug was freshly vacuumed.
* The Sultan of Brunei flew the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to London for his son's ninth birthday. The cost? A cool million bucks.
* Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton was often carried around by a hunky attendant. When asked why, she said, "Why should I walk when I can hire someone to do it for me?"
* When one-time Time Warner boss Steve Ross flew his wife and two other couples to Mexico for Christmas, the trip required two corporate planes... one for the people, and one for the gifts.
* Donald Trump's 727 had 24-carat gold belt buckles.

Having more money doesn't make you happier. I have fifty million dollars, but I'm just as happy as I was when I had forty-eight million.  [Arnold Schwarzenegger]
              **********************

When I was in elementary school, our principal would often pop into our classroom, and when he did, he usually told us a silly joke. One of those jokes was about a pet parrot named Enza. The family was very distraught because their beloved parrot had escaped through an open window, but the punch line delivered a happy... and corny... ending. When they left the window open again... In Flew Enza. Okay, so he wasn't the world's best comedian, but it's gotta mean something that I can still remember that punch line after all these years.

Well, ya know what you get when you combine  influenza with affluence? You get a whole new word to describe an affliction that strikes only the wealthy: affluenza. 

That word burst into my consciousness this past December, but it actually isn't a new concept. In fact, the term may have been coined as far back as 1954, and PBS ran a special by that name in 1997. British psychologist Oliver James defined the term several years ago as placing a high value on money, possessions, appearances, and fame. In their 2006 book, called Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough, Australian psychologists Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss concluded that wealth causes over-consumption and materialism, and inevitably leads those poor little rich kids to self-medicate with booze and drugs.

Some people made a teensy bit of fun at the idea of affluenza:

But this past December, the unthinkable happened. It was used as a defense in a criminal trial.

Was this a case of the scales of justice being blatantly tipped to favor the wealthy? You decide.

The case: Sixteen-year-old Texan Ethan Couch and seven of his friends stole and drank two cases of beer. The other boys allegedly begged Couch to slow down, but he was still driving the pickup truck thirty MPH over the speed limit when he plowed into four people at the side of the road. And killed them. Eleven others were injured. Two of his friends were thrown from the bed of the truck, one of whom will be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Couch? He fled on foot, yelling, "I'm Ethan Couch! We'll get out of this." Three hours after the accident, his blood alcohol level still measured three times the legal limit, and a trace of valium lingered in his blood.

Bottom line, he was right. He did get out of it. This wasn't his first run-in with the law, either. He'd already been charged with underage drinking before, and he was found with an unconscious, undressed fourteen year-old girl in his truck, too. The consequences? Nuttin, honey.

It's all about the affluenza. His lawyer said he suffers from it, and needed rehabilitation, not prison. G. Dick Miller, a psychologist hired by the family, said the boy was a product of affluenza, and thus, unable to link his bad behavior with consequences because he had been raised to believe wealth buys privilege.

I'm not buying it, but evidently the judge did. She sentenced him to alcohol rehabilitation and ten years' probation. The posh California rehab center looks like a resort... and will cost the family almost half a million dollars a year.

So, I ask you, if his so-called affliction was caused by a lack of consequences, how exactly does shielding him yet again from the consequences of his behavior cure that affliction? Talk about the ultimate irony. How will getting out of it change his behavior?

And if essentially what is an innocent by reason of wealth is a valid defense, shouldn't innocent by reason of poverty be a valid plea as well? If a kid can get a slap on the wrist for being over-privileged, doesn't an under-privileged kid deserve the same consideration?

Lawyers believe a man is innocent until proven broke.  [Robin Hall]

Yeah, right. I wouldn't give a plug nickel's chance of that ever working. Matter of fact, in 2012, the same judge who sentenced Couch to rehab and probation sentenced another fourteen-year-old to ten years in juvenile detention. He punched a man, and the man fell, hit his head, and died. That young man was black. Okay, so that may not have had anything to do with the ruling, but let's just say... he wasn't named Ethan Couch. And I doubt very seriously if he or his family were troubled with an overabundance of funds.

And so it goes.

                                               So what do you think...?

                          Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

If There's One Thing I Can't Stand, It's Intolerance

Thought for the day:  My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son of a bitch. [Jack Nicholson]

If you're paying attention, life is jam-packed with irony. For example, I started blogging to try to build a so-called platform for my writing, but now I spend so doggone much time blogging, who has time to write...?

Not sure what irony is, you say? Simply put, it's a contrast, usually humorous, between expectation and reality. Which, of course, means I'm a huge fan. I hope you are, too, because we're gonna take a look at some pictures with a funny take on irony.

Jehovah's witnesses don't celebrate Halloween... I guess they don't appreciate random people coming up to their doors. [unknown]

That defaced stop sign is somewhat amusing, (Thank you, Wikipedia!) but it'd be even funnier if a car were parked right next to it. A police car.

All you English majors will especially appreciate this van-owner's sentiments about stupidity.  



(Bad spellers, untie!)

Didn't do a heckuva lot for the can, did it?

 Kinda like the 7-11 that's open from 9-5.

I'm not an optimist, but hopefully, one day I will be. [Nikhil Saluja]

Now, that's just mean...

Been there, done that! How 'bout you?

Okeydoke, and if you're illiterate, send 'em a letter?


The ballot is stronger then the bullet. [Abraham Lincoln!]

Gee, where's a spare tire when ya need it?

Interesting juxtaposition, dontcha think?

LOVE this one!

Um, maybe it's steak fish?

As soon as you stop wanting something, you get it.  {Andy Warhol]

Yeah, we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now, would we?

Drunken frat boys with bad aim, maybe?

Kinda reminds me of an item in a church bulletin that said, Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Okeydoke. It's closed...

Happens every time...

People who stereotype are all alike.









How about you? You have any favorite examples of irony? Like, as strange as it sounds, we drive on the parkway, and  park in a driveway. And isn't it funny that our noses run, and our feet smell? Okay, now... your turn.

Time to shut off the computer for a bit so I can get some other stuff done around here. (The health department hasn't knocked on our door with a threat of condemnation, but there ARE a few dust balls around here that require rearranging.) Oddly enough, to get off the computer, I'll be hitting the start button. Ironic, ain't it?

                            Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.