Affluenza

Definition

"a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more."^[3]The term "affluenza" has also been used to refer to an inability to understand the consequences of one's actions because of financial privilege, notably in the case of Ethan Couch.^[4]


Now just Wait a damn minute; if wealthy individuals can contract a disease that impairs understanding the consequences of their actions because of financial privilege, is not the equivalent of such a condition the inability of impoverished individuals to understand the consequences of their actions because of financial poverty?

In the case of Ethan Couch, who was sentenced to ten years probation on December 2013 by Texas presiding judge Jean Hudson Boyd, wealth is governed by a different set of laws and subject to leniency from the courts and those magistrates trusted to interpret the law.

One must question not only who's interpreting the laws of the land these days, but also who's getting paid to twist medical semantics to allow a murderer, who caused the death of four innocent persons, to be on the loose and unaccounted for.

Texas judge Jean Hudson Boyd, now retired, and Psychologist G. Dick Miller are the who's who of this Affluenza farce.  Only in Texas; no strike that. Only in America where money can buy you any Word you want to lessen the blow of legal accountability and punishment.

God Bless Mexico, who along with U.S. Marshals, FBI and other agencies, hunted down Couch, a fugitive from justice after violating probation, and detained him in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Maybe now Mexico can assist in doing what the U.S. justice system failed to do the first time; not allow financial privilege to influence judgement and punishment of a criminal.

I'm sure Mexico and Canada both think all U.S. citizens suffer from Affluenza; "a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more." Sure sounds like the symptoms of an STD doesn't it!

Why mention this tidbit of news on a sports blog you might ask.  Because I truly believe the American legal system, in cahoots with a deceptively bogus medical diagnosis, have wronged the families of four victims of Ethan Couch's recklessness.  Prayers for all; the victims, all families affected, Couch and his family, the American justice system, medical psychology, all victims of DUI offenders.

Get MADD - Don't let others drive drunk

Ethan Couch’s victims, from left: Brian Jennings, Breanna Mitchell, Hollie Boyles, Shelby Boyles.

Crash

On Saturday, June 15, 2013, according to authorities and trial testimony, Couch was witnessed on surveillance video stealing two cases of beer from a Walmart store, driving with seven passengers in his father's Ford F-350 pickup truck, and speeding (70 miles per hour (110 km/h) in a designated 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) zone). Three hours after the incident, he had a blood alcohol content of 0.24, three times the legal limit for adult drivers in Texas,^[7] and tested positive for Valium.^[4]