Make no mistake – our pop culture is wrapped up in the thrall and cult of celebrityhood. The quote “”In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes.” by Andy Warhol can be very true for little or no reason at all for the person who has been thrust into the limelight by circumstances beyond their control.
However, with the advent of media outlets like US and People magazines, the normal assortment of tabloids newspapers, and TV shows of dribble like Entertainment Tonite and the Insider, people like the Kardashians can be famous for, well, being famous. Sex tape-tress Paris Hilton has made her moment in the sun last way longer than the tape that first made her infamous; being an heiress to the Hilton fortune did not hinder but she has made some accurate business decision that have given her a standalone career.
However, there are those that will be “stupid”and do much to gain and retain that spotlight – even if it means being remembered for acute evilness: think Charlie Manson. All these years after the Tate Murders and he still is famous. No, he’s still in jail and having been denied parole so often, he will most likely die in prison. But he will draw his dying breath knowing that he is (about to be “was”) famous and that his name and actions were famous during his lifetime. Sometimes, that is all that is needed for a loser.
The TV was just on in the background and after the news, it slipped onto one of the aforementioned TV programs. At the time, they were doing an interview with Tory Brown and his son Torrance; the latter had been in the theater at the time of the attack. In the interview, Torrance had this to say:
As I see him, all the feelings from the movie theater came back. If you let him rot in jail for the rest of his life, I’m perfectly fine with that. Don’t kill him, that’s too easy. that’s way too easy.
Really? This is a guy that apparently craves fame. If you do not put him to death, he will be able to ever brag “Do you know who I am and what I did”? After all, he did not resist the police and did not kill himself like many other that have gone on mad rampages. He planned this, carefully for months, to make a high impact at both the theater and his apartment building. He knew that what he did (and what he hoped would happen at his apartment) would certainly be big news for weeks nationally and for a time, worldwide. We are a celebrity obsessed nation and culture – he wished to insert himself into that . Being a bit “different”, he probably understood that happenstance would not gain him the fame he craved.
I think that the proper start has happened – many are starting to not use his name – I will not do so again. There is nothing inherently wrong with fame or being famous as long as it is for the right reasons (I may disagree with Newark mayor Cory Booker, but his acts of saving people got him several well deserved 15 minutes of fame).
All the data points to this alleged murderer being the right suspect. In this case, if indeed his reason for doing so was to obtain the brass ring of fame, even for a heinous crime, why would we give him the chance at decades of life to savor it? In this case, the Death Penalty would be the right option – justice (not revenge) for society at large, for the victims, and if speedily done, a deterrent to copycatters.
Fame for all the wrong reasons, but celebrityhood none the less. This should not be allowed to happen.
