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As the cold weather comes and goes, sometimes in rapid pace, people around Madison are worried about flu season. However, there is apparently a new epidemic that could be on the rise.
According to The Chicago Tribune, Affluenza has been brought to the public eye recently in the trial concerning a young man in Fort Worth, Texas who was involved in a car crash in June 2013.
He had been driving while drunk with a group of friends and crashed into a car that had broken down on the side of the road. The accident killed four people, all of which were on the receiving end of the crash and were trying to get the car running again. Three of the teen’s friends were severely injured as well.
Although Affluenza is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the defendant’s lawyer used it as an excuse anyway during the trial, claiming that the teen had no sense of responsibility for his actions because of his sheltered and privileged life, which is the result of his lack of parenting and excessive wealth.
In December of 2013, the judge for his trial ruled that the teen would be sentenced to ten years of probation as well as therapy that his family would be paying for.
The result of this trial has caused disturbances in other affluent areas, at least to those who know about the story.
When asked if they knew about the story, a lot of students and teachers at Bob Jones High School said no. This could be because Madison tends to reside in and focus on its own bubble and atmosphere.
“But it’s something I worry about now that the precedent has been set, and people can use that [as a defense] in court,” Bob Jones High School government teacher Jason Edwards explained.
Angela Mooney, a French teacher at Bob Jones said, “I think it is something that may be tried now that lawyers and psychologist know that they can do it.”
Even though it is in general agreement that what this young man in Texas did was wrong, there is a certain kind of empathy that may be felt if someone the same age were in the same situation.
“I would feel happy that I didn’t have to go to jail but really bad because I killed people,” stated Kalifa Stringfield, a senior at Bob Jones High School.
While the majority may feel relieved that they had gotten out of going to prison, they also feel that the crime itself is inexcusable.
According to The Chicago Tribune, the teen’s psychiatrist, G. Dick Miller, was also feeling regret when he spoke about the case on CNN. “I wish I had not used that term…Everyone seems to have hooked on to it.”
It may be true that many people have caught on to the phrase, but it doesn’t seem like many people in our area have caught on to the “disease” itself. So, it may not be Affluenza season after all.
