MELLIPOP AND SCHAPELLE

Ok, so I feel as though I should have an opinion on this whole Shapelle Corby mass outpouring of self-righteous indignation phenomenon.

But besides mouthing the predictable comparisons between the baffling disparity of sentences handed down for jihad junkies planting bombs in Bali and beauty therapist bogans smuggling hash into Bali, I am strangely bereft of concern for any of it.

I mean, I should probably really care more, I guess. But to be honest, I have no interest whatsoever in examining all the available evidence before coming to my own conclusions. As I am sure that everyone else with an opinion on this subject has already done. The debacle that is the Trial By Media. Why the fuck should we believe any of it? Do these people have any idea how the media actually functions?

Let's bandy around a hypothetical scenario, shall we (hypothetical because I don't actually know whether it is indeed true, and as mentioned previously, have no interest in making any effort in determining whether or not it is true) Anyway, let’s just say – for example - that Channel 9 have a vested interest in making her appear innocent and stirring up public sympathy because they have paid for the exclusive rights to "The Schapelle Story", and are sending their sales reps into overdrive crunching the numbers on their subsequently increased advertising rates.

Now say that the above scenario was true. If Channel 9 were to lean towards framing the verdict as "guilty", presumably public interest in the case would deteriorate. Public sympathy for Schapelle would wane. So would their ratings. And more importantly, so would their advertising rates. And they’ve paid for this chick. They have to make that money back somehow. The perception of injustice is far more likely to engender interest in a subject, than would a standard "Ok she's guilty - do the crime pay the time". Feeling sedated and sated we could then switch over to watch Big Brother and go on with our miserable lives. And more importantly, we'd never have to watch Channel 9 ever again - thank God and Ray Martin for that.

Look, don’t even bother reading the last couple of paragraphs of dribble. Basically, it comes down to this. The media are shaping the opinions of the mass public. The media have their own agenda, one which is not a judicial or legal function. So anyone with an opinion on this is a dick, because it is necessarily a limited and uniformed opinion. And I’m all for having uninformed opinions, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t have one myself in this case and I’m feeling kind of jacked off because of it.

So essentially, I’ve come to the completely unrelated and arbitrary conclusion that I really don’t give a crap about what happens to this girl. I wish I did though. It might have made for a much more interesting post. Schapelle’s loss is now your loss. And that’s all that really matters.