Marie: So I guess it looks like “Martha Stewart Living” may have to be produced from a jail cell. I suppose Martha will have to change the title and her image for the new audience she will have; after all, there is only so much you can do in an 8 feet by 5 feet space. Didier: There are only so many throw pillows that can be made from a bright orange D.O.C. jumpsuit. They will just change the name to “Penal Living” and our living rooms will be swathed in pinstripes by the holidays.
She said: I kind of feel bad for her. Don’t you think that if any other reasonable American would have done the same thing, it would have gone unnoticed, but because of her name and the fact that she is on our television every morning, she gets all the press? I mean, if I had money to invest, and I knew that my stocks were going to fall, I think I would have done the same thing.
He said: Of course they found her guilty; she has a vagina. It only goes unnoticed if you are a rich, white male. Just look at Kenneth Lay; he and his cronies sent ENRON into the toilet while making off with millions. He is still running around free. Yet for some reason, the government chose to prosecute big, bad Martha Stewart because she saved herself about $45 thousand.
She said: Yeah, it seems like a miniscule amount of money for such a highly regarded person. I am sure that she can spend that amount of money every two weeks and still have enough to send her beloved chows to the doggie hotel where they get a bone on their pillow and a therapeutic massage. I guess she can feel comforted in knowing that at least they will be taken care of while she is doing the hard time.
He said: I’ve seen a few “women behind bars” movies in my day, and let’s just say it won’t be a “good thing.” She will get what she deserves; if you do the crime, you must do the time.
She said: But don’t you think that her reputation is lost and that is punishment enough? Like you said before, it probably would have gone unnoticed if it were anyone else in this situation. I think doing time is a little much for something like this. Have her contribute some of the money that she does have as a result. It has been reported that her empire is failing. Stocks are down and her name is at stake, but that is not all. According to one story, it is the advertisers that are suffering the most because they no longer want to be associated with her.
He said: Forget about the advertisers, what about her employees? What about the employees at K-mart? What about the 8-year-olds sewing her dishtowels in some Singapore sweat shop? There are a lot of people banking on her, literally, so I find it hard to have much sympathy for her or her advertisers.
She said: You have a point, but I do think that the sentencing and jail time will be a bit much in this situation. Now, if the sweatshop is true, then that is another story, and she should be punished for those children being underpaid or working at all. I just think that even though she did do something wrong, what good is it going to do to make her spend time in jail when that tax money could be going towards someone who really did a crime that hurt someone? The only person she hurt was herself.
He said: Uhh… HELLO, did you not just hear what I said? There were a lot of people who were hurt because of this situation, and there are a lot of people who will be hurt because of this situation. Now leave me alone. I am going to play with my X-box.
