What's worse, paparazzi, or DUI-prone actors?
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I just Twitter'd about actor Thomas Jane being arrested and charged with a DUI in California this morning, but I want to actually talk about it for a minute. It seems like not a week goes by that some actor or actress isn't charged with DUI somewhere in this country -- mainly L.A. Michelle Rodriguez had a DUI stop in Hawaii while she was still working on Lost, and I remember her case especially because she has racked up more than a few of these over the past couple of years. Given the choice between community service or jail, she actually chose jail, which while good for the rest of us since it kept her off the highway, doesn't exactly inspire confidence that she regrets her reckless actions in any way.
If anything will make you sit up and wonder what is wrong with these people, consider that something like 3 or 4 cast members from Lost all have DUI arrests in Hawaii, and that's just the one show. It wasn't very long ago that 24 lead Kiefer Sutherland got out of jail for a DUI, and this one stretch last year where there were almost one per day. That young actor from the first season of Prison Break met a couple of teen girls at a store, got behind the wheel of his SUV while drunk and headed to another party with them ended up crashing into a tree, killing one his passengers.
I realize that these two things are not exactly the same, but every time I hear about actors complaining about out-of-control photographers, I keep thinking about how you never hear about the paparazzi sitting in prison for killing someone, nor do you hear on a weekly basis how "yet another paparazzi has been charged with ..." Are they a nuisance? Certainly, but are they out there on the roads, gambling with your life and that of your family? I would happily trade the paparazzi plight for the plague of drunk actors and actresses rolling the dice, waiting to see which innocent family will die next just because they were too stupid to call a cab -- and when these people could afford to buy an entire cab company, no less.
As much as I love Thomas Jane, I can't help but believe he had a suspended license (forgot that part) because of a previous DUI. One DUI is bad enough, but this is just ridiculous. Second DUI while on a suspended license, as far as I'm concerned, should carry a stiff penalty. I'm not talking about a fine or 60 days in jail here, I'm talking years in prison. There are some excuses for driving on a suspended license, and one DUI offense can be forgiven, but a second DUI plus the already suspended license shows not just a casual, but an aggressive disregard for the law and public safety. I don't care who you are, you do that, and you should go away for a while.
This public service message was brought to you by The Media Pundit Against Stupid Assholes Driving Drunk (TMPASADD.)
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