The Price of Celebrity...Is Paris Hilton's Punishment Too Harsh?



I have written quite a few posts about Paris Hilton's jail sentence. I took a firm stance that Paris should serve the same sentence as anyone else..no matter their walk of life.

Paris Hilton is a mirror of American culture. She is the living walking Barbie Doll. She is rich, famous, successful and embodies the product of the American Dream come true. Americans love their celebrities and Paris Hilton, if you take the most-searched terms on the Internet into account, is the MOST popular celebrity of all.

Recently, they interviewed celebrities on the red carpet about Paris Hilton's jail sentence. Most didn't have very kind words for Paris. In an earlier post, I mentioned that Paris had a once in a lifetime opportunity to show America her true grit. From what I have seen she has chosen to do exactly that.

I hadn't realized until Paris reported to jail that she would be facing SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. Twenty-three days of solitary is enough to drive a person insane. We are a social species. One of the harshest punishments that can be inflicted upon someone is to place them in isolation. The court has chosen to enforce Paris Hilton's sentence to the full, yet she is not able to serve her sentence in the same capacity as the other inmates. For security reasons she will be kept in total isolation from the other inmates and be denied the recreation and interaction that they are entitled to during their stay.

I think that this is extremely harsh and I admire Paris Hilton's stoic stance as she stated that she, "wants to show America that she can do it." I had often wondered what happened to the DNA that was strong enough to create such a successful family. Any family that can forge such a powerful dynasty is made of stern stuff. I was impressed by her attitude and willingness do pay her debt to society. Even the most hardened inmates pale at the thought of solitary confinement. I now feel that her punishment is unjust and she should be allowed some compensation in the form of a daily visitor to her cell or a television for her room to compensate for the unfair circumstance that her celebrity has made so very necessary. In keeping with this I have reset the clock in sincere sympathy for her plight. I feel that equal punishment is justified...but this is UNEQUAL in the extreme. The clock is now a countdown until she is released from this injustice.

--The Clever Cynic, http://theclevercynic.blogspot.com/
E-mail: the_clever_cynic@yahoo.com

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