;)
In the young life of this blog, this is my first comment on the subject of Paris Hilton, and doing so now may be seen as participating in a media pile-on. But Hilton is a public figure who has chosen to make a sitcom out of her life. The following comment constitutes a review of a recent performance:
Paris Hilton pleaded no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving. She then violated her probation by driving with a suspended license. For most of us, such behavior would draw a punishment prescribed by law, and even our friends would be hard-pressed to feel sorry for us.
On Friday, a California judge told Hilton that she would serve 45 days in jail in Lynwood, Calif. The judge further stipulated that Hilton would not be allowed to pay to serve her sentence in nicer, private jail. There would be no electronic monitoring, no work release, no furloughs. For 45 days, she will star in "The Simple Life - live and unscripted."
And untelevised.
Announcing his intention to appeal, Hilton's lawyer Howard Weitzman said he thought the judge had singled Hilton out for harsh punishment because of who she is.
If that's true, it's sauce for the goose because Hilton singles herself out from society. Her reality TV show - everything about her public life, really - sends the not-very subtle message: I'm rich and I'm cute, and if I am a public nuisance, you are required to find it amusing.
I'm more inclined to think the judge acted in the hope that 45 days of sitting in an isolation cell*, eating prison food, wearing a canvas jumpsuit and having others decide when she can bathe will make clear to Paris Hilton that what she did is wrong.. Paying a fine she can well afford, or turning this incident into another 30 minutes of quality television won't do the trick.
I wish Paris well, I really do. For her sake, I hope she learns from this experience.
*in Los Angeles County, celebrity inmates are segregated from the general jail population for their own safety.
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