Sunday morning, bleary

[cleolinda]

So my internet's been out for the weekend, and when it comes back I have something like 250 emails in my Livejournal folder, where the comment notifications live. Oh God, I think, some horrible fight must have broken out while I was gone. So I go to LJ itself to read over the comments and, miraculously enough, there are a few people who disagree but (and I'm still reading page four here, so knock on wood) it all seems to be intelligent discussion. So thank y'all, first of all, for that. And then I realize that people have been linking to it, which is why so many people are commenting. So I go to Technorati to see who's been linking--not "who" so much as what they've said when doing so. It doesn't pull everything, but people here mentioned a few other links they came from as well, and what I'm seeing a lot is, "Cleolinda said exactly what I was thinking, so I'll just link to her rather than go off on a fresh tangent." And I have to say... I feel kind of embarrassed now that I wasted a thousand words on Paris Hilton. And a lot of the criticism has been, "Why are we spending so much time on this waste when real things, bad things, are happening around the world?" The long answer to this is, because there's something satisfying about a small and petty victory; because we're not going to get victory or even closure in any of these world issues for a very, very long time, if ever. We can't fix Darfur or world hunger in a weekend, but by God, we can see that some vapid party girl doesn't wriggle out of her jail time. The short answer is, uh... I don't know. It really is a pretty shallow, annoying thing. But people now have my thousand-word rant to link to instead of wasting even more words or time on her, so... it evens out?

Comments

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

I have found your column to always be interesting.. and informative. I enjoy your movie reviews, the discussions about your puppies, sister, everything. You write very well.

Hope you are feeling better.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awww, thanks.

[highlystrung.livejournal.com]

Huh, I know what you mean. I live in England and I've only just found out today that there's been massive scary killer floods going on in my home town of Newcastle, Australia, for the past few days, where most of my family and many of my friends live. And at first I was desperately searching news pages for info and I got so frustrated when all that anyone (even pages based in Aus) seemed to care about was Paris bloody Hilton. But after I found out everyone was alright and I calmed down a bit, what did I go straight back to to lift my spirits? Paris Hilton. ^^ It's nice to see something, even something small, go right for a change.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

But everyone is okay?

[highlystrung.livejournal.com]

Well, in the sense of nine people being dead and quite a number of people being displaced and a few thousand people being without power for a number of days? No, not everyone is ok.

But in the sense that none of those people were my family or friends? (All right, some of them are without power, but they're staying with other friends and they're not on the street so it's ok.) Yeah, they're ok.

Thanks for asking. :)

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

Our CBC had coverage of that on the main page with pictures. Condolences for the family lost in the road wash out.

[highlystrung.livejournal.com]

My condolences as well. It must be terrible to have an entire family go at once. And I'm sure there were loads of places that had the info up for access, it just seemed like everywhere I went it was more obscure, but then, I was somewhat panicked at the time and really just want information quickly. ^^

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

There's a lot more discussion of the coverage here in Australia. From what I've heard this morning, nothing bad seems to have happened overnight.
Try the ABC website, perhaps?

[highlystrung.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think half of my frustration when I first found out was because I couldn't get in contact with family and the fact that what I wanted wasn't right there seemed obstructive when I just wanted to know. I tend not to think clearly when I panic. And of course, I should check the ABC, I should have thought of that immediately. *facepalm* I went more for newspapers initially. Thankyou.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

You got linked in the comments on Making Light, incidentally.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

In a positive way, I hope...

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009085.html#193166

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I think -- and forgive the terminology, apropos as it may be -- but in this case Paris is the symptom and not the disease. The disease is the culture of celebrity and entitlement in which she's been marinated since conception. And when a million people are angry enough to grab someone (anyone, it seemed on Thursday and Friday) and jostle them relentlessly to say that it isn't right -- that's progress. When we're finally ready for a person who has been utterly divorced from work and responsibility her entire life, a woman who manages to exemplify the worst in American culture, to finally take responsibility for her willful disregard of the law to which you or I simply cannot afford to be dismissive or ignorant of, it's a good thing. It's different than giggling at her inebriation, her lack of underwear, her eerie raccoon-like stare into a nightvision-mode-camcorder.

And the funny thing is, it's not a huge step. It's smacking her on the back of the head and saying, "Hey, why don't you just act like a goddamn human being for once?" But it's a start. And you put it about as well as anybody, whether it be blogosphere or mainstream media. And there are no shortage of talkers on the subject, so you should really take pride in your insight and your concise take on the issue. Go you!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

You know, that's the one thing that's surprised me--pleasantly--about this whole thing: after years of wondering what the hell is wrong with America that they will actually watch her on television and tolerate her existence, all of a sudden people are feeling genuine disgust. It's like everyone just sort of woke up all at once and went, "Hey, WAIT A MINUTE--!"

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Whether that's a sign of a society just waking back up or its last sign of life before falling completely asleep, though, I'm not going to worry about just yet. I think, when future generations look back on the turmoil of these last few weeks, they'll realize that if only for the macros (http://sigma7.livejournal.com/494178.html#cutid1), it was all worth it.

(Incidentally, did you see where one of the photogs at the "My handcuffs, let me show you them" moment was none other than Nick Ut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Ut), 35 years removed from the horrifying yet iconic image of the napalmed girl in Vietnam (http://jezebel.com/gossip/portraits-of-grief/paris-hilton-the-kim-phuc-of-2007-267394.php)? Insert cheap Paris=Vietnam joke here, I guess. Though it turns out he didn't take the photo, he took a closer shot of Paris's face, now with 70% less squadcar.)

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

That (perhaps incidental) comparison between the Paris photo and the Vietnam thing is kind of off-putting.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

It says a lot, doesn't it? Me, I'm just glad Nick's getting better assignments.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure this was a step up for him, to be honest.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

I thought the iconic photo of the sixties was the one of that girl screaming over a body at Kent State. Or was that later?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Kent State was 1970, I believe, and Ut's napalm photo was 1972. They're both unforgettable images, but I don't know which I'd consider superior.

[xander77.livejournal.com]

The idea of "Why waste time on X when there are so many things to be done about Y,Z etc" never made sense to me. It HAS to be some sort of fallacy.

Oh, and thanks for the technocrati link. Useful.

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

I think at least one possible answer to the More Important Things fallacy ("Why are we spending so much time on this waste when real things, bad things, are happening around the world?") is that we're perfectly capable of multitasking; just because we're talking about Hilton right now doesn't mean we don't discuss those other, larger problems (or, indeed, do things to try to make the world a better place). It's not an either/or situation.

[greyduck.livejournal.com]

That's funny, 'cause I could swear that most of Teh Internets believes that every. single. thing. is a zero-sum game. Le sigh.

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

Why are you here on the internets instead of out solving world hunger??? Le sigh indeed.

Ah.

[xander77.livejournal.com]

So it IS a real fallacy. Thanks.

Re: Ah.

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

It probably has a fancier name, but yeah. This becomes obvious when you take it to ridiculous extremes ("Why are you worried about Strikethrough '07 when there's GLOBAL WARMING ZOMG!!!?") - it's a way of trying to shut down a line of argument, making it out as unimportant by appealing to a Big Moral Issue (so Big and Moral that you're some kind of monster if you say "but that's not important!").

(I'm sure it can be found *somewhere* on this alphabetical list of fallacies (http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/fallacies/fallacies_alpha.htm)...)

Re: Ah.

[elsajeni.livejournal.com]

I've been calling it a false dichotomy, which, I am pleased to see, actually is a thing on that list, and fairly close to what I meant.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Well, as you pointed out, we're not going to get world peace, or stop corruption in politics, but we can take hope from the fact that thism spoiled brat is going to get what she deserves. By the way, has anyone else visited her IMDB boards? They're quite amusing.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

I haven't commented about this yet, but your post really was an excellent analysis of the situation. About your last point here, people asking why we're wasting time on this rather than "Important Issues", well. I have many things to say about that, particularly since that is the exact same argument people kept bringing up throughout Strikethrough. Yes, we're pissed and yes maybe it would be awesome if we took this particular activist energy and set it toward something "important", but like you say it's often easier to affect change on a smaller level, in our own backyard. Think globally, act locally and all that.

Another point is -- well, many of us already DO. Many of us are political activists in a wider sense, *and* we care about Strikethrough, *and* we feel vindicated by this Paris Hilton thing for whatever reason. We're complex individuals who can do and think many things at once.

Finally, I also chafe at the slightly elitist tone of this comment - it reminds me of how some people ask why I'd be interested in such a pedantic thing as popular culture and not something important like the ballet. And, well, who decides what's important? The conflict in Darfur, sure, that's easy, but beyond that it gets very sticky. Paris Hilton is a symptom of something much larger in our own (popular) culture, so why wouldn't we be interested in the topic for the reasons you described so well? How is that not valid and "important" in and of itself?

[skyblade.livejournal.com]

It comes down to when Paris Hilton has stopped becoming merely dicussion and has become an industry. It's the 24 Hours News channels devoted to her because they feel they can generate more revenue. (That in itself is nothing short of appalling.) It's the fact that if she were to conduct an interview, or write (or more accurately, have someone else write) some kind of memoir, she could grab a healthy sum for it. It's not like her career or status is going to signifigantly change because it's not like she ever had that much cred it in the first place. She got a TV show in the first place because of her reputation as someone who was spoiled, gaudy, and not too intelligent.

Is it elitst? Sure, but that's a term that probably gets thrown at people who hate Larry the Cable Guy or Norbit. Hell, the people who are still on Hilton's side have called her dissenters elitists.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

Hey - unrelated to the Paris thing, I have a question about Poms - I've been looking into info on them because (sometime in future when I have my own place and more time) I am thinking of getting one. It said they have coarse coats, and I know I've petted them but it's been a long time, so I wanted to ask - when they say coarse, do they mean to the touch, or in looks? I always thought they had soft-feeling fur? Also, how oily is their fur to the touch? It doesn't look it but the article said something about oils in the fur. Anyway, maybe you could give me your opinion on that? Thanks. :)

[kateshort.livejournal.com]

The ironic thing is that Paris is apparently thinking the same thing about the attention:

Hilton added she was "shocked" by the attention her case has received and suggested the public and media focus on "more important things like the men and women serving our country in Iraq."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070610/ap_on_en_tv/paris_hilton

[delle.livejournal.com]

*bleah*

the only reason Paris thinks we should be looking elsewhere is because she's getting negative attention. if she were showing up at whatever social event fills her life, she wouldn't be directing us (or the all important CAMERAS) away from her.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, I don't think that was Paris talking; that was Paris's publicist. Paris is too busy having a meltdown in her cell.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was surprised she could be that coherent in the state she's in.

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

Life would be too dull if people ranted on about Darfur and world hunger all the time, we need a little Paris Hilton in our lives.

[sucrelefey.livejournal.com]

How can folks mistake your pop culture and entertainment journal for a world affairs political journal. Besides those donation buttons make it clear you certainly think of big important things.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't feel bad about having addessed it. It's obvious that this whole debacle has hit some nerve in the collective consciousness. Perhaps it's the point at which we all screamed "ENOUGH!" and were pleased to see something done right.

For whatever reason, you said what we were all thinking, and either couldn't or didn't put into words. And it needed to be said.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

(hit tab instead of enter, and THEN hit enter. *sigh*)

And, it really wasn't about Paris Hilton, herself - it wasn't further amplifying her unwarrented celebrity. It was about our frustration with that, our desire to see something else, at heart.

[it-grrl.livejournal.com]

Maybe if we all turn around and ignore her, it'll be like the end of Merlin (http://imdb.com/title/tt0130414/) and she'll just disappear.

[xander77.livejournal.com]

Ha.

Someone else remember that series.

Ah, internets, you can brighten up the lamest day with tiny yet awesome moments of joy.

[it-grrl.livejournal.com]

Glad to help.

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that topics of real importance cause more anger in discussions than I've ever seen in a discussion over Paris Hilton. People like to laugh at her, and feel satisfied over some justice going on in this world because a lot of us are pissed over things like the war in Iraq. We get tired of it because it's been drawn out a million times. I can personally say that if at this moment I had to pick between making fun at Paris Hilton or going on in a debate over the war or any other world issue, I'd pick Hilton. I'm too emotionally involved in the war, for one thing, and I'm sure as hell not the only one. I really just see topics like Hilton more as a entertaining momentary relief from the constant debating I do in my regular life.

[nimlotbradamant.livejournal.com]

I refrained from commenting on the last post because...well, I'm just a blow-by and I didn't want to Start Anything. But to contribute to intelligent discussion, I'd just like to point out that I think the whole "YAY LET'S JAIL PARIS HILTON" is very understandable (I succumbed to it too) and also kinda wrong. I heard that most people doing the same thing usually get lighter sentences--home imprisonment with an anklet. And I think it's painfully obvious that the government, having caught one of the world's most famous people, has decided to make her an object lesson. She didn't kill or injure anyone: her only crime was against the State. And the State is gleefully using her as an example to everyone else. Now as a bit of a libertarian, I think that is just wrong. Yes, Paris is vapid and useless. But she did not commit a serious crime and her fame is being exploited for the government to teach us to knuckle under...It's more of a heavy threat to the world at large than a fit punishment to her "crime" and I do not agree with that.
[/soapbucket]

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but other stuff she does she gets preferential treatment for being famous, you know? You have to take the good with the bad.

[nimlotbradamant.livejournal.com]

Not a Paris expert, so...does she?

I don't see why that should make any difference: Stop the preferential treatment and the out-of-proportion punishment.

It's not about Paris Hilton, it's about the government's attitude to licensing everyone. It's the government seeing itself as the Most Important Thing in the World. They're not punishing her for being spoilt and dumb and useless, or for driving while her license is suspended. They're punishing her for defying them, and that is a very, very bad thing.

Allow me to quote from a great movie: People should not be afraid of their governments: Governments should be afraid of their people.

[megalion.livejournal.com]

wow... I found myself obsessed by her on Friday... but wasn't til reading your blog post today that I realized I'd forgotten ALL about her over the weekend.

And why not? Hanging out with friends at West Hollywood's Gay Pride weekend is a hell of a lot more fun.

[edda.livejournal.com]

A little schadenfreude (especially when justice is actually being served--WHICH IT IS) is bracing, sort of like a spoonful of tonic on occasion. Or so I believe.