A Time Out to Rant
I'm going to pause in the posting of my vacation pictures for a moment to vent a bit. Have patience, please.
Earlier today I had occasion to watch a show on MTV. Yes, I actually watched MTV, although the channel has been largely moribund ever since they stopped playing music videos.
The show I watched was called My Super Sweet 16.
For those who haven't seen it, it shows for the cameras the lengths and expense some people will go to give their daughter a memorable sixteenth birthday party.
Our star for this episode was a rather svelte girl from Tennessee - not fat, but with lush curves on her that made her look twenty. To be fair, her parents are rich, judging from the gigantic McMansion they live in (pace Al Gore, I wondered what their light bills were).
Anyway.
They gave this young woman a $82,000 six-door stretch Hummer (even though she didn't yet have her license), a $20,000 diamond-studded wristwatch and a $125,000 "sweet sixteen" party at a posh hotel in New York City for her and what looked like a hundred of her school chums. This party included a hip-hop star (probably a B-lister) and at least three dress changes on the part of the guest of honor. She even had a young lad from her school act as her escort, much to the annoyance of her actual boyfriend.
Now, I'm watching this tribute to wretched excess and all I can think of is the Fall of Rome in 476. As more and moore of the Upper One Percent concentrate more wealth in their hands, the gap between them and the rest of us will widen and deepen until Something Happens to correct the imbalance.
I will leave it as an exercise for the student to determine what that Something might be.
What do you think?
Earlier today I had occasion to watch a show on MTV. Yes, I actually watched MTV, although the channel has been largely moribund ever since they stopped playing music videos.
The show I watched was called My Super Sweet 16.
For those who haven't seen it, it shows for the cameras the lengths and expense some people will go to give their daughter a memorable sixteenth birthday party.
Our star for this episode was a rather svelte girl from Tennessee - not fat, but with lush curves on her that made her look twenty. To be fair, her parents are rich, judging from the gigantic McMansion they live in (pace Al Gore, I wondered what their light bills were).
Anyway.
They gave this young woman a $82,000 six-door stretch Hummer (even though she didn't yet have her license), a $20,000 diamond-studded wristwatch and a $125,000 "sweet sixteen" party at a posh hotel in New York City for her and what looked like a hundred of her school chums. This party included a hip-hop star (probably a B-lister) and at least three dress changes on the part of the guest of honor. She even had a young lad from her school act as her escort, much to the annoyance of her actual boyfriend.
Now, I'm watching this tribute to wretched excess and all I can think of is the Fall of Rome in 476. As more and moore of the Upper One Percent concentrate more wealth in their hands, the gap between them and the rest of us will widen and deepen until Something Happens to correct the imbalance.
I will leave it as an exercise for the student to determine what that Something might be.
What do you think?
posted by Walt at 3:07 PM
1 Comments:
This is sadly typical these days. I think these are modern day "coming out" parties.
Don't forget the LI defense contractor who threw the zillion dollar bat mitzvah for his daughter with all the famous rock stars. And then it turned out that he was making lousy flack jackets for our troops to boot. ack
Post a Comment
<< Home