The Shania Twain Defense
May 22nd, 2006
The CBC reports:
One of the most notorious drunk drivers in the Ottawa area has been found not criminally responsible on his latest impaired driving charges because of a mental disorder that makes him believe female celebrities are controlling his actions.
The 33-year-old [Matt Brownlee] told psychiatrists that he knew the legal repercussions of his actions, but believed singer Shania Twain was helping him drive.
To my mind, the most salient question is: why focus on Shania Twain? The fact is, even people in Western cultures commonly believe some external entity is helping them in their accomplishments—ever heard the phrase “God is my co-pilot”? But the article simply states Brownlee’s belief, as though that were sufficient to demonstrate his lack of responsibility for his actions.
There is an attitude on the part of society that anyone with beliefs that strange must have something wrong with them. Strange here means unsanctioned by society—if large numbers of people believe something, then that belief is perfectly fine. I think this is at least partially due to uneven media coverage: a person’s unusual beliefs aren’t typically made public unless that person does something newsworthy, and most newsworthy actions are negative. Many, many people go through their daily lives guided by entities they believe to be external, but it never becomes an issue for the media.
If you believe unusual things, think about how you can challenge society’s prejudices. Do you think it is worth it to be more open about your beliefs in order to make society aware that responsible individuals hold them? It is a common opinion these days that one’s beliefs ought to be personal and private, but at one point sexual preference was also considered personal and private. This view had to be challenged in order for people to start working in any sort of organized fashion to change society’s views.
But at least, if you do believe unusual things and you get into trouble with the law, be conscientious enough not to damage the reputation of others who believe similar things by using your belief as an excuse.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
8 Comments Add your own
1. alistair | May 23rd, 2006 at 2:47 am
why shania? hell, have you seen her. this guy might be delusional but he knows the difference between butter and margerine…………
if i`m gonna manufacture a delusion it might as well be a hot one.
*/*
2. alistair | May 23rd, 2006 at 2:52 am
but seriously…………..i do believe unusual things and i bring them to the community to help people with thier issues. i see myself as a suburban shaman. i have been out on the edge and i can speak with clarity about my experiences and can synthesise them into meaningful strategies for others.
3. Anthony Temple | May 25th, 2006 at 9:30 am
The subtext of this news article can also be read as follows: “Another scofflaw from a politically important family evades justice” — in other words, he doesn’t really believe he was directed by Ms Twain, he’s merely concocted a wild story (possibly directed to do so by his attorney) and the court believed it. One doesn’t actually know what happened (not having been present at the time), so the story can be read in a variety of ways. In our present political climate, and particularly since this man has already served seven years for the drunk-driving deaths of a woman and her child, the second reading is likely to be the one most people will assume to be the correct one.
Apparently he did not state initially that he was directed by outer forces, but that he was suffering from brain damage from a previous drunk-driving accident. This does not inspire confidence in his later revelation.
Assuming either he was sincere in his belief or that he actually was in contact with Ms Twain (or someone he perceived to be Ms Twain), one wonders why she didn’t warn him not to drive.
4. Raymond Stolp | July 31st, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I have quit YouTube and will be committing ritual suicide online.
The Rock Star life is just too much for me.
Here is my farewell video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mpkAdaG9yU
5. debt consolidation loan&hellip | March 12th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
debt consolidation loan
airy slickers concubine commodities dramatic
6. casinowebcam&hellip | July 20th, 2008 at 12:13 am
casinowebcam
Krause justly overhear Podunk?formed
7. gratis slots machine&hellip | July 20th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
gratis slots machine
hatchets elaboration underestimate
8. aetna variable life insur&hellip | August 8th, 2008 at 4:32 am
aetna variable life insurance
sheds!adaptors mammal nontransparent breakthroughs render!
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed