Why America Hates Paris Hilton
June 11, 2007
This post, written by Jill Filipovic, originally appeared on Feministe
I hate Paris Hilton. I think she's one of the worst human beings in the world. She's an entitled spoiled brat, and watching the way she treated people on The Simple Life made me sick. I was happy she was sent to jail. I was happy when she was sent back.
But let's not pretend that this is any great victory for "justice." Yes, she should have to do her time just like anyone else. Yes, there's a question as to whether anyone else would have received a jail sentence for doing what she did (as far as I can tell, the answer is probably "no"). But this isn't about justice or injustice -- it's about seeing someone we dislike finally get theirs, through an incredibly flawed and thoroughly unfair system.
I've found a lot of the conversation around the Paris Hilton jailing to be very troubling -- people don't want to see her incarcerated because she broke the law, but because she's a "stupid bimbo," a "skanky little whore," a "stupid bitch," a "ho," a "piece of white trash," a "ignorant cum hole on a stick," a "fucking whorebag," a "whinning pussystretched crab infested skank," a "spoiled cunt," etc etc. And those are just from the first 150 comments on the post linked above. Other commenters hoped that she'd get a "full-cavity search," talked about their sexual gratification at the sight of her crying and the description of her being dragged off by a prison guard, expressed their desire for her to be raped, and even said that "the next story should be about the whore dying." Even artists are getting into the game, supposedly critiquing drunk driving by depicting Paris dead, naked and with her legs spread open (created, notably, by the same dude who did the pro-life Britney-birthing statue).
I think it's fascinating that of all the disgusting things Paris Hilton has done -- using racial, anti-Semitic and sexual slurs, mocking "lesser" rural people on The Simple Life, acting condescendingly and generally cruelly toward anyone who crosses her path, driving drunk -- what people are really upset about is the fact that she's a slut. Yes, she's technically being punished for driving without a license, but that isn't what makes everyone so gleeful about her stint in jail -- it's the pretty-little-rich-whore getting her comeupance.
I hate Paris Hilton. I think she's one of the worst human beings in the world. She's an entitled spoiled brat, and watching the way she treated people on The Simple Life made me sick. I was happy she was sent to jail. I was happy when she was sent back.
But let's not pretend that this is any great victory for "justice." Yes, she should have to do her time just like anyone else. Yes, there's a question as to whether anyone else would have received a jail sentence for doing what she did (as far as I can tell, the answer is probably "no"). But this isn't about justice or injustice -- it's about seeing someone we dislike finally get theirs, through an incredibly flawed and thoroughly unfair system.
I've found a lot of the conversation around the Paris Hilton jailing to be very troubling -- people don't want to see her incarcerated because she broke the law, but because she's a "stupid bimbo," a "skanky little whore," a "stupid bitch," a "ho," a "piece of white trash," a "ignorant cum hole on a stick," a "fucking whorebag," a "whinning pussystretched crab infested skank," a "spoiled cunt," etc etc. And those are just from the first 150 comments on the post linked above. Other commenters hoped that she'd get a "full-cavity search," talked about their sexual gratification at the sight of her crying and the description of her being dragged off by a prison guard, expressed their desire for her to be raped, and even said that "the next story should be about the whore dying." Even artists are getting into the game, supposedly critiquing drunk driving by depicting Paris dead, naked and with her legs spread open (created, notably, by the same dude who did the pro-life Britney-birthing statue).
I think it's fascinating that of all the disgusting things Paris Hilton has done -- using racial, anti-Semitic and sexual slurs, mocking "lesser" rural people on The Simple Life, acting condescendingly and generally cruelly toward anyone who crosses her path, driving drunk -- what people are really upset about is the fact that she's a slut. Yes, she's technically being punished for driving without a license, but that isn't what makes everyone so gleeful about her stint in jail -- it's the pretty-little-rich-whore getting her comeupance.
