Arnold Schwarzenegger recently came out with an announcement that was devastating to his family. He said he had an affair with a member of his house staff and had fathered a child ten years ago as part of that.
His family is in shambles. His marriage is falling apart and even one of his kids has taken their mother’s last name rather than his. In the middle of all of this is the media scrutiny that seems to go on and on. Every day there is a new set of secrets to tell and different people weigh in on what has happened. I have one simple question in the middle of all of this. Who decided that this was news? We live in a country that has 9 percent unemployment, a debt crisis and little to no direction from the top when it comes to foreign policy and we’re stuck with coverage that is all Arnold, all the time.
While this is not like the O.J. Trial, and believe me, I’m thankful for that, it is ridiculous to me that the media even wastes time on things like this. My bottom line on this particular story is that Arnold, while he is the former Governor of California, has now turned into a private citizen and has returned to his acting career. That makes him what he was for many years, an actor. Haven’t other actors done this kind of thing? We all seem to be acting like this is something very rare and it really isn’t. Schwarzenegger did something that wasn’t the wisest course and is paying for it in spades in his family life. Isn’t that enough? Don’t we have more pressing matters to attend to?
Jerry Doyle said once and I agree with the sentiment that he came up with called the Grapefruit mentality. This is where the media decides that something is important and spends every waking moment covering that, instead of what’s really important. If you doubt that the media does that sort of thing, look no further than the O.J. trials, Chondra Levy, Charlie Sheen, the continuing saga of Britney Spears and the same for Lindsey Lohan. Why is it even a story when someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger screws up? Don’t we all make mistakes?
The answer can be found in the idea that it makes all of us feel better when the mighty have fallen. It makes us feel like we are a little better when someone is a little worse off that was so “great.” I personally think that it’s time to give the man some space. He has made a huge mistake and is paying for it through the nose. I think that is enough of a price to pay, without all of the media attention that continues to drag him and his family through more attention that they don’t want or need.