This really irritates me...
Right now I am sitting here reading the news while my daughter watches Sesame Street. After you watch these kind of shows on a daily basis for months on end, you look for a personal diversion. Mine today, was the news.
I saw a headline regarding an article about Hilary Swank last night, but did not look at the article until this morning. She is fighting a $150.00 fine for bringing two pieces of fruit into New Zealand. They have these sort of laws in place for a reason. If a non-native pest is brought into a country, it can take over and do serious crop damage or even wipe out species of plants. Even when you cross the border into Canada, they will ask you if you have fruit in your car, for the same reason. When Bob and I went to the Domican Republic our bags were searched by customs, because we had been to a fruit plantation outside of the US.
First the fine is so low, why not just pay it. I am sure that she is worth at least that. No, she would rather pay a lawyer to fight the fine. Does she have no other way to spend her money? Wouldn't it be better spent by being donated to a charity. Second, does she feel that because she is a recent Oscar winner, that she is exempt from following basic rules? Does that make her above the law? Maybe, she is just too stupid to understand the concept. She irritates me.
In our society, we put so much importance on fame. We hold celebrities in such high esteem, that no matter what they do, they are thought wonderful. I am sure that there are people out there who think that the New Zealand government is being unfair to Hilary. I really want to know why this story was newsworthy in the first place. She needs to stop complaining and pay the fine!!!
I saw a headline regarding an article about Hilary Swank last night, but did not look at the article until this morning. She is fighting a $150.00 fine for bringing two pieces of fruit into New Zealand. They have these sort of laws in place for a reason. If a non-native pest is brought into a country, it can take over and do serious crop damage or even wipe out species of plants. Even when you cross the border into Canada, they will ask you if you have fruit in your car, for the same reason. When Bob and I went to the Domican Republic our bags were searched by customs, because we had been to a fruit plantation outside of the US.
First the fine is so low, why not just pay it. I am sure that she is worth at least that. No, she would rather pay a lawyer to fight the fine. Does she have no other way to spend her money? Wouldn't it be better spent by being donated to a charity. Second, does she feel that because she is a recent Oscar winner, that she is exempt from following basic rules? Does that make her above the law? Maybe, she is just too stupid to understand the concept. She irritates me.
In our society, we put so much importance on fame. We hold celebrities in such high esteem, that no matter what they do, they are thought wonderful. I am sure that there are people out there who think that the New Zealand government is being unfair to Hilary. I really want to know why this story was newsworthy in the first place. She needs to stop complaining and pay the fine!!!
posted by Linda | 9:33 AM
7 Comments:
I saw this news item, too, and thought the same thing. And on a less related note --- her Oscar acceptance speech really irritated me. She thanked everyone who ever worked for her (agents, attorneys, publicists). It just seemed so phony and insincere, like the win was expected or something. Very irritating!
I think she is just irritating in general. Seems to me that fame has gone to head. I have not seen either movie that she won an oscar for, because she just turns me off. I can't figure out why, but she does and this is sort of like icing on the cake. Based on this, I may never see any movie that she is in.
I don’t know who Hilary Swank is (no I didn’t follow the link, if it turns out she is hot that might change my argument). I don’t have any opinions on customs and fruit (a piece of fruit in your bag is probably the least likely way a foreign species would enter a different environment, but whatever).
I wanted to comment on the “doesn’t she have anything better to spend her money on” and the “fine is low” comments.
If she felt she was wronged, she should fight. The system should decide if she is a moron (or not) and proceed from there. If she is fighting her fine because she thinks she’s special and is better than everyone else (celebrities and cops seem to do this a lot), she should loose. Pretty simple outcome and process.
Her money is… well hers. I’m not one to tell anyone how and what they should do with their property, and I expect others to grant me the same courtesy. “Spend it however you wish Hillary, drop a few grand fighting a $150 dollar fine. You got my vote.”
Just because the fine is low doesn’t mean you should jump right up and pay it, ever thankful because it was so low. Fight that crap every step of the way if you think it’s unjust. I think we fought two wars on that very matter.
In a world where everyone is committing a crime all of the time, we shouldn’t just cave in and be thankful we got away light. Unjust laws should be challenged, every step of the way.
Penn, from the Penn and Teller comedy duo, has become somewhat a hero of mine for taking on the TSA. All he had to do was submit to a search, something all of us do when all we want to do is catch a flight. He thought it was unreasonable and has been fighting the TSA since (using time and money I don’t have but wish I did).
It could be that this Hillary chick is just a dumb celeb, pissed that she wasn’t treated like the royalty she believes she is. On the other hand maybe she believes she’s out there fighting the good fight for those who otherwise couldn’t. Either way, hopefully a system is in place to look fairly at her charges, without her fame being taken into account.
Not being able to get in her head, it is hard for me to say what she was thinking. I have to look at the situation from my perspective. Maybe, she did not know that it was an issue, but it is and she was caught. The article said that it was very routine for these fines to be given.
While I will agree that the money is hers to spend how she chooses, it just seems that this is a frivilous situation. To me this is no different than somebody who would sue McDonald's because their coffee was too hot. She was at fault, so she needs to pay the fine.
Now, if it were to come out that she was singled out, because of her celebrity status, then I will agree that she should have fought it, but for now being on the outside, it seems to me to be a waste of time.
Hey Dave, what about Hillary Swank's PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for her actions? If she broke the law (and it's a reasonable law that many countries have and enforce), shouldn't she pay the fine?
See Bob, there you go again. Placing what is effectivly a moral obligation in the terms of some type of systemic process of control.
If she want's to fight a law she deems is unfair, it would be irresponsabile for her NOT to fight it.
Linda, my issue wasn't that she shouldn't pay it, it was that she should be able to contest it's validity. If ultimatly she is found guilty, yes pay it (unless it's truly unjust.. then go to war). I just felt your dismisal of her challeging authority needed to be highlighted.
Dave, you're the one doing all the talking about "personal responsibility." I'm just trying to force you to apply it in the real world rather than as some abstract ideal that you would like to superimpose on reality.
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