Mr. Hitchens
I found your diatribe about the injustices Paris has “suffered” moderately nauseating. Your article suggests a puritanical, bloodthirsty public, while it coddles poor Paris as a victim -child.
A child darling, Paris is not. She is at an age where many people - doctors, nurses, fire fighters, parents - are responsible not just for themselves but for the lives of others. Sure, celebrity life entails relentless pressures, not to mention horrifying permutations of bottom-feeders, that in a weak moment would yank any well-adjusted psyche to the brink of despair but that's no excuse: thousands of people at 26 manage lives far more stressful and consequential than hers AND believe it or not – they suck it up without acting out!
You’ve adopted the dubious viewpoint that suggests Paris is a victim of circumstances. Even in her lack-lustre sex tape, you represent, not as the obvious antics of a dim-wit who has no reservations about taking the game of garnering attention to a new low, but as a victim who “may have been drugged.” Maybe she was a little rocked out of her head, but I hardly suspect a 3rd party spiked her drink. Clearly, you were disappointed in her lack of enthusiasm. I think you’ve missed the zeitgeist of generation Y where detached, deadened nonchalance in all things - including sex acts, funerals and financial windfalls, is the new status symbol. Feeling is out. If you find her pronounced ennui, her lack of abandon - the very things which I would consider proof of her full self awareness and perfect self control - unsettling, perhaps the best conclusion to draw is that dorky full-of-wonder 70’s porn is for you. Besides, its hard out there for a ho’!
You write about Paris as though she has been caught unawares, fresh off the farm. May I remind you, this is an urban, affluent woman with more than enough access to good information. While altered states and sexual freedom make life interesting, without self-responsibility such behaviors need to be the objects of public scorn. Do you really expect society to dignify her convenient claim that she did not know the law? Not only is it a shoddy excuse but highly implausible given her resources.
While you lament that “the majesty of the law will not give her a break”. I lament on the insipient mentality you support that advocates hot women relying on the kindness of strangers as a means to navigate life. Let’s not choke the cat with cream Hitchens. Consequences are often good things. Consider the people - her self included - that might be inadvertently helped by such harsh sentencing. Consider the inherent self-centeredness and carelessness in those who drink & drive, one that is only bound to escalate and generally doesn’t stop until it is stopped. If 43 days in jail, rather than a genuine tragedy stops it, maybe we all come out ahead.
You might also consider the social tensions in this country that would only be exasperated had she “gotten-off” (not in the video mind you). Perhaps that played a role in the judge’s decision to send her back to jail. It may be wrong, but as Paris proves everyday, life isn’t fair. Besides, Paris does not exist in a vacuum. You ask readers, “So, you finally got the kid to weep on camera? Are you happy now?” The answer is no. Does Paris care that the mentality she so carelessly perpetuates is the one that most prompts women to shed tears regularly? In degrading herself, she promotes the degradation of women everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the T&A that offends, it’s the lack of a counterbalance.
