Picture this: You’re at a toy store and see a young child scream, “Mom I want that! I want that!” And without even batting an eye, the mother puts the toy among the others in the cart. You’re at a car dealership and see a teenage girl getting handed the keys to her brand-new Range Rover. You would look over and say, “Spoiled brat,” or at least I would. The hard thing is, you can’t even blame the kid. It’s the parents’ fault for spoiling them in the first place. At least, that was what State District Judge Jean Boyd thought for Texan Ethan Couch’s case in 2014.
“Affluenza: noun, having so much money that one can buy their way out of trouble, never learn right from wrong, and therefore, be held to a different standard without accountability or appropriate consequences.” Think Veruca Salt from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." This is what the court ruled for Ethan Couch last year when he killed four people and severely injured two others while driving drunk and on drugs.
This doesn’t seem like a too far-fetched story because drunk driving accidents happen all the time. The thing about this case, however, is that Couch is serving no jail time. This kid killed four people: a mother and daughter, a pastor, and another helper were going out to help a broken-down car carrying church-goers on the side of the road. Not to mention, he severely injured two of his friends riding in the back of his pickup truck, one of whom is no longer able to move or talk due to a brain injury.
Prosecutors asked for a maximum of 20 years in prison. Under Texas juvenile law, the maximum allowable sentence in such a case is 3 years in a Texas Juvenile Justice Department facility, so shouldn’t that mean he should serve at least that? Nope. The judge ordered him to a rehab center and 10 years of probation. Couch pleaded that he didn’t know any better due to his parents’ spoiling and never setting rules for him growing up. The 16-year-old also stated he thought his parents knew he did drugs and drank, so, like, how was this in any way his fault?
As ridiculous and sketchy as this situation sounds, it makes people think, could Affluenza actually be considered a reason to get out of jail? Could Ethan Couch’s outrageously privileged life really be the cause of his demise or lack thereof? Apparently, it can.
What does this mean for future cases regarding such affluent teens? Of course, this is not to say that every kid that comes from money and affluence is out of control. But those who can commit a crime and get away with it because of who their parents are is mind-blowing.
There’s a phrase my parents always say when I don’t get what I want because of them: “Love me now, hate me later, or hate me now, love me later.” They would rather I “hate” them now for saying no because they know I would love them later for holding me accountable for my actions and not feel so entitled. Earning my keep and being disciplined when needed has shaped me into a rather responsible adult today or so I think— my mother still yells at me from time to time.
Mr. and Mrs. Couch, maybe you should’ve had Ethan hate you now and love you later.
