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The Lobby Observer

The Student News Site of Westborough High School

The Lobby Observer

The Student News Site of Westborough High School

The Lobby Observer

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Affluenza: The New Epidemic

Affluenza:  The New Epidemic

By Katie Litwin

                Let’s take a moment to consider the term Affluenza; a theory created in the 1990s by someone who tried to legitimize the idea that wealthy kids cannot be held accountable for their actions because their money prevented them from learning right from wrong. If you’re questioning the sanity of the person who formulated this “theory”, I’m with you. Affluenza is not a disease, you cannot get treated for it, it’s just a way for wealthy kids to sneak their way out of trouble by pinning the blame on their money, rather than accepting the consequences of their actions.

We’ll use an example to prove my point. Just the other day a 16 year old male from Texas stole alcohol from a local store, then killed four innocent people by driving drunk on a rural road. Oh, and he caused serious damage to his friends in the bed of the Ford F150 in the process of crashing, paralyzing one. And, although the typical sentence for this type of manslaughter is 20 years in prison, this wealthy boy got away with 10 years parole and a stay in a luxurious and cushy rehabilitation center in California where his parents pay roughly $37,000 a month for him to stay. I know, this sounds preposterous and infuriating, but as the defense gently put it, the boy cannot be held accountable because he suffers from Affluenza, and being under the watch of the law for 10 years is punishment enough. Realistically, how close is “the law” really going to watch him? The boy who committed murder is going to be sitting poolside for the duration of his “psychiatric evaluation” and not even have a slap on the wrist for stealing, driving drunk, or killing four people.

What’s even more frustrating is how the judge even bought into this foolish idea that Affluenza is a legitimate disease. The judge didn’t even enforce the psychiatric treatment, he advised it. Had the boy been, let’s say, schizophrenic, and committed this act he would have been forcibly treated. If this “Affluenza” is truly legitimate, he should get equal treatment. If the judge really wants to help this child transform and learn from his mistakes he should be stripped of all the benefits that his money has to offer, such as living luxuriously in California, and he should have to learn the hard way of what is right and what is wrong. Getting a slap on the wrist is no way to fix the problems this teen has, he is not a little kid, he knows the law and is aware that he broke it, and he should be penalized accordingly.

As hard as it is to get over how frustrating this case is, this article was not written to gripe about how unfair this sentence is, the point is that America is beginning to condone completely unacceptable behavior by allowing it to happen unnoticed and unpunished. There isn’t the same emphasis on accepting responsibility for one’s own actions as there was years ago, and it’s because those of authority are not enforcing the rules or finding loopholes to void them.

We are heading down the path that is filled with a generation of bratty kids who don’t have any responsibilities and feel that every action, bad or good, is justified. And, let me make myself clear, this isn’t a “going to happen 10 years down the road” sort of generational change; this is happening now. Even today there is an emergence of kids who don’t need to care about their actions because they won’t be affected by the consequences, and if you’re saying, “well it doesn’t matter because the consequences won’t affect anyone else”, think again. Two of the victims of this 16 year-old’s crash were the wife and daughter of an innocent man. Imagine losing two people that close to you in one day, from one boy’s idiotic actions, you don’t think that’s a consequence?

We, as a nation, need to take a step back and realize the type of growth that we are fostering in future generations, is this type of behavior something that our ancestors would be proud of? Do we really want to live in a world where murder and theft and other horrible crimes are justified? Think about it.

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