We are living in the gilded age.
But, still, youth branded as "privileged" have it tough sledding. Particularly in media. That means their brand takes blow after blow in the court of public opinion. Often what goes on in the courts of public opinion and the courts of law intersect.
With great glee, the New York Post reports the Patrick Allen is facing two counts of first degree murder for alleged attempted murder of two police officers. He took a non-guilty plea. What isn't clear is if he was under the influence of drugs when he waved a gun at the police.
If he had been, then that could be a tragic explanation for erratic behavior. Had he not had in his family a publisher of the New York Post and a judge, his situation could become a sympathetic case on one of the growing number of cop shows. The reality is that, in response to his show of force, the cops shot at him, hitting him several times. Were all those shots necessary? Had he been a poor kid from a housing project he might have evolved into a symbol of alleged overzeal in law enforcement.
But Allen is branded "privileged" and these criminal counts could turn into the nights of the long knives.
Owen Labrie will probably never get a fair shake in the media. He is considered privileged not because he came from family money. It was because he got to attend elite prep school St. Paul's. There he engaged in he said/she said sexual activity.
Despite the ambiguity, he was convicted of some crimes, although not rape, served time in jail, has to register as a sex offender - and has become smirk-stuff in most of the coverage about him. His lawyers are chasing a new trial. But, will that be granted? In addition to elite schooling, Labrie seems unlikable. Those who make judicial decisions are human.
Andrew Bachman came from a background that was not filled with wealth. But his parents are in a high-status job classification: medical doctors. So this man who took a plea for mobile cramming is portrayed in media as the entrepreneur who gave it to Everyman/Everywoman up the butt. In response to an article about him in the Boston Globe, there were about 50 negative comments.
When the mobile cramming scam first became news the question was: Can Bachman have a comeback? It's been years since the question has surfaced.
Fortunately, most of us don't have to worry about getting roughed up by the media and public perception if we allegedly take a walk on the wild side. We inspire envy in few, if any.
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