When all of this first came down, I was all-for charging Joe Francis and basically throwing the book at him. See, my personal philosophy is that just because you can do something doesn't really give you the right to. And while I don't generally care to push my personal agenda, beliefs, or philosophy on others, I truly believe that America has become the cesspool of the entire world specifically because we've been trained to "accept" every opinion, outlook, and POV as valid, when - in fact - a lot of them are utter crap!
Racists have the "right" to promote their perverted beliefs, but it doesn't mean they should. And If they do anyway and others resort to underhanded means to retaliate, I do not agree with it, but I understand why it is done. But it is wrong, regardless of whether or not it is done for a "greater" good and there's the rub.
The Joe Francis case is a sociological and legal gem that deserves close scrutiny because it illustrates this entire ideology from both ends of the spectrum:
- Francis did not technically do anything illegal, but what he did/does is just barely legal and is morally reprehensible from any standpoint. That he can take advantage of people does not give him the right to and he's an asshole because he knows this - he just doesn't care. On those grounds, I agree that he is a threat to the community, at-large.
- The law has no real case against him, so it is dragging the entire thing out. That they can do this doesn't give them the right to, but abuse by literally every, single person involved in the American legal system in any capacity is so rampant that we might as well be living in Bolivia. They are the same flavor asshole as Joe Francis.
See, the problem with Sociopaths like Joe Francis is that he knows better - he just doesn't care - so there's no point in trying to "teach him a lesson" because he already knows this! Just like sending people to jail for minor offenses only teaches them to distrust the system and learn more creative methods of circumventing it, all this "lesson" is going to do is make Joe Francis more legally savvy.
Not to mention that it is a damning double-standard. While I could not agree more that Joe Francis - above and beyond pretty much anyone else I can think of, past or present - deserves this sort of treatment, the simple fact of the matter is that it is an abuse of the legal system, plain and simple. And even though Francis abused the legal system to get there, it still doesn't make it right.
As usual, America is sending out a completely mixed message: celebrities are not "above the law," so we're going to "make an example" of them... wha-at!? Either they are the same as everyone else - and thus deserve to be treated as everyone else - or they are not; there is no room for a middle-ground. Quit "making examples" and uphold the law, you damned politicos!
Look, I am no pie-eyed hippy; I fully understand and agree that there comes a time when you have to drop the gauntlet and let certain people know you mean business. But even then, there is a right and wrong way to handle it, and this is the wrong way.
Florida is a hot-spot of meth-infested strip clubs, well-known for its pornography trade. Coming down hard on Joe Francis with both feet doesn't make them look "tough on porn," it simply illustrates the fact that they are crooked politicos looking to boost their poll-ratings in an election year.
But, make no mistake about it, Joe Francis is an asshole.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
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