Civics Lessons Courtesy of Paris Hilton
June 9, 2007
(on a side note to the few people who stop by and say hello… HI! I’m still alive and summer is here so that may mean more posting!)
But anyway….
Here at casa CrazedMommy, there is much to be learned from the latest Paris Hilton kerfluffle. For children who are on the Autism Spectrum, it is difficult to understand why someone gets in trouble, and that there are consequences to one’s actions. This happens rather frequently here with Spiff, and he expressed concern just this morning over Paris Hilton’s return to jail.
Spiff: Mom, I feel sorry for Paris Hilton.
Me: Why?
S: Because she has to go back to jail. It’s the sheriff’s fault.
(note: this is typical thinking for an Aspie. They focus only on the immediate reasons and not the bigger picture understanding. It can be very frustrating as a parent)
M: Do you understand why she has to go back to jail?
S: Yes, because the sheriff is making her.
M: No, sweetie. She’s going back to jail because the judge who sentenced her to jail said that she couldn’t serve any of her time under house arrest and the sheriff violated that order by sending her home. Now, the sheriff felt that it was in her best interest to go home, but he violated the judge’s order when he did that. Do you understand why she went to jail in the first place?
S: No, not really.
M: Okay, she was caught driving under the influence of alcohol and had to go to court for that. Her license was suspended. That means she can’t drive a car for a period of time. Once that time was up, she could drive again. She decided that she didn’t have to obey the laws that us non-celebrity folks have to abide by. She was then caught driving her car not once, but twice after her license was suspended. Maybe she thought that she could drive her car, just not while she was drunk; but that’s not what the judge meant. He meant you can’t drive your car at all during the time your license is suspended. The judge didn’t think Paris was taking what he said to her very seriously, so he sentenced her to jail, where she might begin to understand the seriousness of her crime and that she is just like the rest of us and not above the law. Her sentence was reduced to 28 days, but now with all the hullabaloo, she has to spend 40 days in jail. Now do you understand why she has to go to jail?
S: Mom, if she has all of that money, why didn’t she just have someone drive her around so she wouldn’t get in trouble? If I was rich, that’s what I would do.
M: Me too. That’s a good idea.
S: I still feel bad for her, though. She must be so scared.
M: Yes, she probably is. She still shouldn’t have driven on a suspended license though.
S: Yeah. Mom, has your license ever been suspended?
M: Nope.
S: Thank goodness! Because you have to drive us EVERYWHERE!
See, even Paris Hilton can teach kids valuable lessons. (Shocking, I know!) Hopefully this will have an impact on her that she will learn from this experience and turn it into a teachable moment for not only herself, but others.
Or, she’ll play the martyr card. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
June 10th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
It’s always hard because I rationalize between seeing that the right thing is being done, but still feeling a little sorry when I think of someone’s bad turns. This woman had it coming, and it’s an excellent opportunity for teaching the kids a lesson they can somewhat identify with since she’s such a prominent person. Teaches them than no one is above the law (although some do manage to dance around it, huh?)
I hope she uses the experience to do some good with it. But we both probably know better, right?
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