A Glance at Recent Celebrity Treatment

During the past several months we have heard about Lidnsay Lohan's one day jail sentence after being busted for drunk driving twice, Nicole Richie serving 82 minutes of a four day jail sentence after driving the wrong way drunk, and Paris Hilton's 22 days of jail time after driving multiple times with a suspended license and DUI. Most recently we have heard about the possibility of Nick Hogan (a.k.a Nick Bollea) facing charges after wrecking his Toyota Supra, leaving his 22 year old passenger in the hospital in critical condition. We also heard about Michael Vick being suspended indefinitely from the NFL after pleading guilty to charges stemming from dog fighting.

These are obviously just a few of the many cases of celebrity troubles. Celebrities have been breaking the law and getting away with it, or facing extremely lenient consequences for years. Though there is no shortage of people outraged at this fact, what few fail to see is that these kinds of special treatment for celebrities hurt everyone. You may not think it affects you or your life at all, but you could end up facing the consequences of a celebrity thinking they can get away with murder (sometimes even literally).

In some cases, the parents are just as responsible for their children's behavior as their children are. Nick Hogan for example is a minor, which means that his driving privileges are ultimately decided by his parents. It has already been reported that he has boasted about police officers letting him go without citing him for his excessive speed because of his family fame. Yet even with these times that he did not receive a citation; he has still racked up 4 speeding violations in the last year alone. Two of these violations involved speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour, and one involved a speed of nearly double the posted limit in a construction zone while workers were present. Why on earth then had his parents not stepped in and confiscated their son's license and revoked his driving privileges?

The even bigger mystery is why the law hadn't suspended or revoked his license. I have had one speeding ticket in my life, for going 12 miles over the speed limit on the highway. Along with a hefty fine, I received four points on my license, and the warning that if I had ANY moving violations within the next 2 years I would lose my license. I haven't sped since. Harsh penalties worked for me, I learned my lesson. Being that he hasn't faced any serious penalties, he obviously had not learned anything at all. Not only did the law endanger his life by not suspending his license, but they endangered every other person's life that shared a road way with him. Now his passenger has to face the possibility of permanent brain damage at the young age of 22. The sad part is it could have been even worse.

I do not agree that celebrities should "do the right thing" and abide by the law because they are public figures and people look up to them. They should abide by the law because not doing so endangers lives. If you wish to be irresponsible with your own life, by all means, be my guest. However, endangering the lives of others should not be tolerated, no matter who you are or what your status is. I should no have to worry about driving to the store with my children because people like these are on the roadways.

When it comes to Michael Vick, some have voiced disappointment and even said it was unfair that he was suspended indefinitely from the NFL. This man pleaded guilty to a heinous and disgusting crime. What if those dogs had been animals you had raised and you handed them over to what you thought was a loving home only to find out they had been killed or subjected to this cruelty?

He didn't have any monetary gain say some. That makes the entire thing worse in my opinion. At least if he was doing this for money, he was gaining something. It doesn't make it any better, but at least he was driven by greed. To be cruel to an animal just because you can is completely unbelievable. To me this says he simply liked the idea of torturing animals, or he wouldn't have continued to supply these people with money and the means to kill and maim these animals without some kind of personal or monetary gain.

The most popular response is, it was an accident and people make mistakes. First, let's define accident. An accident is something that occurs through no fault of your own, something you have no control over. You can however control whether you speed, drink, hurt animals, abuse your spouse, do drugs, and more. Therefore it is not truly an accident but a mistake. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and this is understandable and even expected. The point though is that when you make a mistake you must face the consequences and learn from that mistake. In the end it would appear that many celebrities are immune to both the consequences and the learning experiences.

The citizens of America are the ones that face the ultimate consequences. We must face the risks and dangers of these people being allowed to continue breaking the law. Innocent lives are lost everyday, why should it come down to a life lost before these people are faced with the same consequences the rest of world faces? Anyone who even risks, not just takes, another person life deserves the same consequences, no matter what.