I believe that Paris's secret evil power and influence over teenagers lies in the fact that she does not HAVE to work!!!

My husband and I are college-educated, and are pushing our kids toward college. But really, they see us working the kind of insane white-collar hours that corporations demand these days, and I can see the doubt forming in their eyes: "WHY???....This sucks!"

I can understand their ambivalence. Why go to college, to get a job, work all the time, get stressed out, never see your kids, never have any *fun*?

Paris, however, lives in an eternal fantasy world that not even Britney or LaLohan has experienced. She has never had to work, not one day in her life... and she probably never will have to EVER! She's in a stratosphere that the majority of the human race will never EVER attain.

So, of course Paris is fascinating. Teens do look up to her and wonder what would we do if we had all the cash in the world and absolutely no responsibility? Wouldn't life just be this fabulous jet-setting party?

I just read Traiser's article, then jumped to another site only to discover that Nicole Ritchie was arrested overnight for DUI. Which raises two questions:

1) Where was Paris last night? and,

2) Could Ritchie have read Traister's article, perhaps sending her off on another pot/painkiller binge?

Maybe the meda, Salon included, has a hand in this never ending cycle...

The poor guy actually worked hard at being a symbol of celebrity decadence and excess. Procuring explosives to pack his drum kit with and blow the doors off of hotel rooms; driving cars into pools; systematically dismantling the interiors of many a hostelry; coming up with new ways to get kicked off of airplanes. It was even dangerous at times.

It's so easy nowadays. All these celebrity nitwits have to do nowadays is just exist.

Quit raggin on Paris. She is my friend, maybe not my abbsolute best friend, but certainly one of the top onez. I hate to see the evil media publishing stuff about her that they don't even know her. I mean heck, at least get to know someones first you know?

Paris is much smarts than you know and she spreads love around the world and L.A. too. Which is a lot more than you can say for yerself. And I'd rather go out partying with Paris than with Jesus himself, even though Jesuses beard is sexy.

-Sent from Blackberry

Thanks to her influence Britney showed us her wazoo! <8-)~

The thing that strikes me about most of the responses to this article is that they don't seem to recognise it as being based in satire. I know the national character of the US is not known for its "getting of irony" but please, Rebecca T. has written a very funny peice which has some relevant messages in it and yet many of you are being oh so serious about it and seem to be missing the fun.

I enjoy reading Salon because of the diversity of content and the skills of most of the writers,not the least of which is to be able to make some thoughtful serious point utilising humor and wit.

David Edler

who is Paris Hilton??

Yes, yes, yes. This is not parody. That woman is dangerous. No joke.

However, Britney Spears just got more interesting. What will she do with this vampiric 'betrayal?' (It's not personal, is it? No.) Britney was prey. (Is still?) Will she wake up? I haven't cared much for her, one way or another. But I want to see what she does in the face of evil incarnate. What would you do?

Yeah. Whatever.

Finally Traister talks some sense.

But we still have Paris to thank for one thing. For one bloody moment Hilton's in Traister's crosshairs, and not men for once.

Hilton gets more attention and visibility worldwide that all the feminists put together. Yes it's sad, but that's the way it is.

Instead of merely saying we're trying to "not waste a minute" on Paris, why not see what we can learn from her? In spite of all her evil, she must be doing something right.

...is that you need Paris. You could have easily chosen to ignore her. Instead, you wrote this piece. Examine your motives. If you really wanted her gone, you'd just shut up about her.

Just look at her and you can see the obviousness of it.

Say goodbye? I never said hello. I've never paid real attention to her and her cadre of do-nothings and know-nothings. They have crossed my field of vision as mentioned in passing in magazine articles or columns, and I've seen them on People Magazine covers where I get my hair cut, and of course somebody somewhere will mention them on CNN or some channel--but I have happily lived my life without learning anything in depth about the lot of them. Life is too short. I read the lede of this article with surprise--why is salon.com wasting our time? Read about Paris Hilton? I'd rather re-read Middlemarch.

Paris Hilton is the perfect mascot for the George W. Bush era: snotty little rich kids, arrogant in their ignorance, cruel in their actions, and leaving a wake of destruction in their paths as they obliviously live their pampered, carefree lives.

The odd part is all the people who worship them. But then, false gods have never lacked for worshippers.

A wise man once told me that if you ridicule the devil he runs away.

More demon lore:

Starting from unlimited freedom, I conclude with unlimited despotism.

The demons parody God's world and invert its ends, playing for its loss.

Demons are unoriginal. They cannot come up with anything new or real. Their lies are copied from sacred truths.

Demons always want to be taken seriously.

--from Richard Pevear's foreword to Dostoevsky's "Demons"

man, you nailed it. methinks there is a real writer in our midst. glad the salonistas gave you a star, or else i'd have missed your piece, which is infinitely superior to the article it responds to. hats off to you, sir.