After reading this, sadly i do believe that people can suffer from affluenza but it shouldn't be an excuse for types of crimes like this. The way Ethans parents treated him, basically letting him have a free for all and not caring about what he was doing or where he was somehow gave him that disorder. Not having any sympathy or feeling bad for his actions just because his parents never punished or probably never actually talked to him about the difference from right and wrong. I also feel like his parent neglected him in some kind of way. The way they would let him stay home all by himself day and night at the age of 15 just shows signs of not having any type of care for their child. I don't know if they are the type of parents that didn't want to give their kids a hard time so they let them do whatever, but thats no excuse for not giving any type of discipline for Ethan. I believe if his parents were more loving, he would have came out to be a different person. Kt002
This article is all about Affluenza, the unworthy excuse used to keep a young boy who murdered 4 people in a drunk driving accident out of jail. Affluenza is basically the effect of rich parents babying their child into a sense of responsibility, from which the child never forms their right or wrong ideals. Honestly, all of this sounds pretty drastic to me. Yes, I understand that our parents have a lot to do with our personalities and understanding of the world, but we also learn a lot from watching tv and going out into the real world with other people. I feel like right from wrong is a very obvious thing. It is very possible that I do not fully understand this affluenza case, however I really feel like it is a lame excuse and should never be used to defend an ignorant child in a court of law. - AJC002
I agree AJC002, affluenza should never be used in defense in a court case. Regardless of someone's parents doing their job awfully, the person, in this case being Ethan Couch, still committed the crime and still needs to be punished. A good punishment would help Ethan a lot, since he never actually got punished by his parents. zmw002
Ethan Couch should be punished just like any other person would be. His family has money and lets him just do whatever he wants to do. Spoiling your child to the point where they think they can do anything they want and not get in trouble is just plain wrong. AW002
I completely agree, Ethan shouldn't have gotten off so easy for the crime he did just because he had a condition that truly doesn't really exist. This is one time that I wish that people can be tried for the same case again because with the new information that has recently come out there is no way he would have gotten off so easy. Haggard002
I agree with you they should have never used that in the case. It is basically a get out of free jail card. It is no excuses for bad parenting in not teaching there children right from wrong. Adelle002
This article described the "condition" affluenza and told about the history behind the term. Affluenza is a condition where a child, usually from a wealthy family, was coddled to such a degree at an early age that they can now not tell the difference between right and wrong and this usually leads them to getting into drugs and alcohol at an early age and committing crimes. This term has never before been used in court. Ethan was the first ever case using the term affluenza. Besides court cases it was used one other time in the late 1990s in a book that made the term known. Personally, I feel like some people actually do suffer affluenza, but I feel that it only can be used as an excuse for so much. Living in today's society will help you develop a sense of right and wrong, so I feel like this condition is not nearly as bad as Ethan's lawyers made it sound. zmw002
I feel like any kid can suffer from bad parenting. If a poor kid who lives in the ghetto has no supervision growing up, wouldn't he turn out the same way? He, like Ethan, had no rules. He also probably has his own way of getting out of trouble since he doesn't have all of the money in the world. Ethan deserves to rot in a cell, and our criminal justice system let these four families down.-OKC002
Even though I agree with almost all of this, I however am finding it hard to believe that this kid didn't know right from wrong. He knew getting into a car while intoxicated was wrong, he knows that killing those 4 people as a result was wrong as well. The parents as neglectful as they were knew also what their son was doing was wrong. But because they had a shit ton of money were able to pay for this "affluenza" defense just to keep him out of trouble. I agree with OKC as well, this is a prime example of bad parenting. Countless lives changed because of bad parenting and countless more will be changed if the criminal justice system doesn't make changes. Ciaccio002
This article discussed the term "affluenza" and how it became so popularized. The word "affluenza" first became popular in the late 1990s by Jessie O’Neill, the granddaughter of a former president of General Motors, when she wrote the book "The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence." The term has since been used to describe the condition where children, usually from wealthier families, have a sense of entitlement, act irresponsibly, make excuses for poor behavior, and sometimes dive in drugs and alcohol. "Affluenza" blew up big time across the world when it was used by a psychologist testifying for the defense during the sentencing of Ethan Couch in juvenile court. He argued that Couch's wealthy parents had craddled and pampered their son into a sense of irresponsibility, a condition the psychologist deemed "affluenza", to the point were Couch never knew the difference between right and wrong, and never suffered any repercussions for his bad behavior. "Affluenza" is not actually a recognized medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. Its use during Couch’s trial created strong backlash from medical experts, the public, and families of the four people killed in the crash. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders makes no mention of "affluenza". Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, a forensic psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, stated that there are similarities to narcissistic personality disorder. People with this disorder feel entitled and don't care about other's needs. But Metzner added that the United States law does not actually recognize narcissistic personality disorder as a reasonable defense. Steve002
This article told us about why affluenza was used in the court case. This should never be used as an excuse in any case no matter what. Yes, the parents should teach the child from right and wrong but everyone knows some sense if right and wrong. Kids even know some difference even if they are never actually taught. In the couch case it was used because his parents were rich and they let him do whatever he wanted so they said that he knew nothing about right and wrong. Ethan Couch was already charged with 5 different things prior to him killing the 4 people. All that happened was him being charged he wasn't punished so he was just like oh well i can do it again and nothing will happen to him. People use this as an excuse for them to try and get a lesser punishment and that is just wrong.AW002
I think that its wrong too. Well obviously, it is wrong because he first of all was under 18 when this happened but its just bad because the judge did not care about the other people who were hurt there was no justice for all those innocent people who have a right to life. Why wasn't there a curfew for teenagers? I know they did not discipline him but I think that they made him look so innocent that its almost like the parents wanted their son to hurt someone else and not care. Its almost like saying son please run these 4 people over with a car???
If kids knew the difference from right and wrong even if they were never taught, then how do you explain his 5 other chargers before the death of the 4 people he killed. He clearly didn't know the difference and that is his parents blame. No type of love, support, or discipline made him the person he is today. No excuses. Kt002
It’s scary how fast people believed that “affluenza” was a real thing to basically give someone for killing innocent people and get off with it. Ethan didn’t even stay on the scene of the crime when it occurred he tried to flee. But since his family was such a high class rich family in the neighborhood people didn’t want to believe that they could do anything wrong. It shouldn’t matter that he was rich or that he didn’t have the proper “social experience” as other teenagers. He should have gotten a lot more time and this is going to be something that follows him around for the rest of his life and I hope this is a nice slap in the face from reality for him to finally realize that he can’t do anything he wants because his mommy and daddy would pay his way out of it. Haggard002
I still believe that this defense is complete crap. Even if your parents pamper you, and don’t give you any rules, he knew what he was doing that night was wrong. Ethan’s friends all told him not to drive, and he had to have known at that point that driving was a bad idea. Yet he decided to drive, and killed four innocent people. I think this case is one of the big failures in our criminal justice system I will see in my lifetime. This boy, no matter how his parents raised him, killed four people. The article even said that the closest to a real medical condition this could be is narcissism, and that has never been used as a successful defense in court before. Ethan Couch deserves to be in prison for most of his adult life, like any other “regular” person would be.-OKC002
I believe that Couch is sick, but now with affluenza. The families of the lost deserve justice. Couch should be incarcerated for manslaughter. I agree, I to think this case is a huge immense failure in the criminal justice system. oasis_002
I think that affluenza can real and not real. What I mean for that is the symptoms are real and the name is not. I really think the parents are to blamed for this. Only because they do not discipline their kids at any age. Sadly I am seeing it in some young people today. They think they can do whatever they want when they want it. Then they think it is no big deal if they get caught. They just think they are cool or it is cool of what they done. They never take in consideration of what they did. Adelle002
This article tells us about how the term well fake term of "affluenza" was used in this very corrupt court case. Yes I can understand if you are pampered all your life and it's a free for all and you get anything and everything you want and do anything you that it may cause some or very little effect on a person determining right from wrong. As humans even if we are not taught directly from our parents we mainly learn from our surroundings and learn by experience and by that Ethan should have learned enough to figure our what is right from wrong. Anyways it common sense I find this case to be very very upsetting for the families that have suffered and are still suffering. Justice was never served and obliviously this judge did not care about the victims or any other human being on earth. If it was a poor person they couldn't lock them up and throw them behind bars fast enough this just isn't fair to anyone. Last time I checked there wasn't and exception in the law saying if you are rich you get the easy way out. So why do we do it that way? It makes no sense. JE002
This article pretty much explains a little deeper about the "AFFLUENZA" defense that was used to get a young boy off the hook for literately murdering 4 people and ruining countless more lives. I don't think having a ton of money should determine ones ability to know right from wrong. This kid has broken a few laws even before this case. This kids parents knew what type of child they had and knew his behavior and still did nothing to correct it. With this case it is setting the tone for other rich kids. This is pretty much telling them that no matter what kind of trouble I get myself into I can claim I didn't know better due to shitty parenting and being wealthy and get off just like Ethan Couch did. And the judge that overseen this case needs to have her head examined. This kid needed prison time for his actions and so did the parents for letting him do what he wanted. Ciaccio002
after reading this the affluenza statement sorta had some facts behind because of the book but there was still no reason just because you don't get told no or your family is rich, doesn't mean you don't know right from wrong. everyone knew that he had to know that driving drunk and high on drugs was wrong. yes he got away with it and yes there is some right things about this but he should have went to prison. There are some things he might have done wrong and not knowing it was wrong because he was never disciplined but those things were all common sense in knowing he was wrong. oregon002
Ethan Couch got off on such a short notice. Why? He got off because he got associated with a psychology term brought up in court. This term is keyed affluenza. Affluenza is basically a term for spoiled rich kids. His psychologists claimed that his parents wealth and pampered lifestyle taught Couch nothing about how to live in the real world. It taught him no responsibility, just selfish acts and greed. While this term got him off in the criminal courts, medical professionals do not accept the term. No matter how rich a person should know that killing is not acceptable. It is unbelievable that Couch can take the lives of four innocent individuals and get called “sick”. I totally agree that he is SICK! But, not in the terms of affluenza. oasis_002
After reading this, sadly i do believe that people can suffer from affluenza but it shouldn't be an excuse for types of crimes like this. The way Ethans parents treated him, basically letting him have a free for all and not caring about what he was doing or where he was somehow gave him that disorder. Not having any sympathy or feeling bad for his actions just because his parents never punished or probably never actually talked to him about the difference from right and wrong. I also feel like his parent neglected him in some kind of way. The way they would let him stay home all by himself day and night at the age of 15 just shows signs of not having any type of care for their child. I don't know if they are the type of parents that didn't want to give their kids a hard time so they let them do whatever, but thats no excuse for not giving any type of discipline for Ethan. I believe if his parents were more loving, he would have came out to be a different person. Kt002
ReplyDeleteThis article is all about Affluenza, the unworthy excuse used to keep a young boy who murdered 4 people in a drunk driving accident out of jail. Affluenza is basically the effect of rich parents babying their child into a sense of responsibility, from which the child never forms their right or wrong ideals. Honestly, all of this sounds pretty drastic to me. Yes, I understand that our parents have a lot to do with our personalities and understanding of the world, but we also learn a lot from watching tv and going out into the real world with other people. I feel like right from wrong is a very obvious thing. It is very possible that I do not fully understand this affluenza case, however I really feel like it is a lame excuse and should never be used to defend an ignorant child in a court of law.
ReplyDelete- AJC002
I agree AJC002, affluenza should never be used in defense in a court case. Regardless of someone's parents doing their job awfully, the person, in this case being Ethan Couch, still committed the crime and still needs to be punished. A good punishment would help Ethan a lot, since he never actually got punished by his parents. zmw002
DeleteEthan Couch should be punished just like any other person would be. His family has money and lets him just do whatever he wants to do. Spoiling your child to the point where they think they can do anything they want and not get in trouble is just plain wrong. AW002
DeleteI completely agree, Ethan shouldn't have gotten off so easy for the crime he did just because he had a condition that truly doesn't really exist. This is one time that I wish that people can be tried for the same case again because with the new information that has recently come out there is no way he would have gotten off so easy. Haggard002
DeleteI agree with you they should have never used that in the case. It is basically a get out of free jail card. It is no excuses for bad parenting in not teaching there children right from wrong. Adelle002
DeleteThis article described the "condition" affluenza and told about the history behind the term. Affluenza is a condition where a child, usually from a wealthy family, was coddled to such a degree at an early age that they can now not tell the difference between right and wrong and this usually leads them to getting into drugs and alcohol at an early age and committing crimes. This term has never before been used in court. Ethan was the first ever case using the term affluenza. Besides court cases it was used one other time in the late 1990s in a book that made the term known. Personally, I feel like some people actually do suffer affluenza, but I feel that it only can be used as an excuse for so much. Living in today's society will help you develop a sense of right and wrong, so I feel like this condition is not nearly as bad as Ethan's lawyers made it sound. zmw002
ReplyDeleteI feel like any kid can suffer from bad parenting. If a poor kid who lives in the ghetto has no supervision growing up, wouldn't he turn out the same way? He, like Ethan, had no rules. He also probably has his own way of getting out of trouble since he doesn't have all of the money in the world. Ethan deserves to rot in a cell, and our criminal justice system let these four families down.-OKC002
DeleteEven though I agree with almost all of this, I however am finding it hard to believe that this kid didn't know right from wrong. He knew getting into a car while intoxicated was wrong, he knows that killing those 4 people as a result was wrong as well. The parents as neglectful as they were knew also what their son was doing was wrong. But because they had a shit ton of money were able to pay for this "affluenza" defense just to keep him out of trouble. I agree with OKC as well, this is a prime example of bad parenting. Countless lives changed because of bad parenting and countless more will be changed if the criminal justice system doesn't make changes. Ciaccio002
DeleteThis article discussed the term "affluenza" and how it became so popularized. The word "affluenza" first became popular in the late 1990s by Jessie O’Neill, the granddaughter of a former president of General Motors, when she wrote the book "The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence." The term has since been used to describe the condition where children, usually from wealthier families, have a sense of entitlement, act irresponsibly, make excuses for poor behavior, and sometimes dive in drugs and alcohol. "Affluenza" blew up big time across the world when it was used by a psychologist testifying for the defense during the sentencing of Ethan Couch in juvenile court. He argued that Couch's wealthy parents had craddled and pampered their son into a sense of irresponsibility, a condition the psychologist deemed "affluenza", to the point were Couch never knew the difference between right and wrong, and never suffered any repercussions for his bad behavior. "Affluenza" is not actually a recognized medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association. Its use during Couch’s trial created strong backlash from medical experts, the public, and families of the four people killed in the crash. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders makes no mention of "affluenza". Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, a forensic psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of Colorado at Denver, stated that there are similarities to narcissistic personality disorder. People with this disorder feel entitled and don't care about other's needs. But Metzner added that the United States law does not actually recognize narcissistic personality disorder as a reasonable defense. Steve002
ReplyDeleteThis article told us about why affluenza was used in the court case. This should never be used as an excuse in any case no matter what. Yes, the parents should teach the child from right and wrong but everyone knows some sense if right and wrong. Kids even know some difference even if they are never actually taught. In the couch case it was used because his parents were rich and they let him do whatever he wanted so they said that he knew nothing about right and wrong. Ethan Couch was already charged with 5 different things prior to him killing the 4 people. All that happened was him being charged he wasn't punished so he was just like oh well i can do it again and nothing will happen to him. People use this as an excuse for them to try and get a lesser punishment and that is just wrong.AW002
ReplyDeleteI think that its wrong too. Well obviously, it is wrong because he first of all was under 18 when this happened but its just bad because the judge did not care about the other people who were hurt there was no justice for all those innocent people who have a right to life. Why wasn't there a curfew for teenagers? I know they did not discipline him but I think that they made him look so innocent that its almost like the parents wanted their son to hurt someone else and not care. Its almost like saying son please run these 4 people over with a car???
DeleteIf kids knew the difference from right and wrong even if they were never taught, then how do you explain his 5 other chargers before the death of the 4 people he killed. He clearly didn't know the difference and that is his parents blame. No type of love, support, or discipline made him the person he is today. No excuses. Kt002
DeleteIt’s scary how fast people believed that “affluenza” was a real thing to basically give someone for killing innocent people and get off with it. Ethan didn’t even stay on the scene of the crime when it occurred he tried to flee. But since his family was such a high class rich family in the neighborhood people didn’t want to believe that they could do anything wrong. It shouldn’t matter that he was rich or that he didn’t have the proper “social experience” as other teenagers. He should have gotten a lot more time and this is going to be something that follows him around for the rest of his life and I hope this is a nice slap in the face from reality for him to finally realize that he can’t do anything he wants because his mommy and daddy would pay his way out of it. Haggard002
ReplyDeleteI still believe that this defense is complete crap. Even if your parents pamper you, and don’t give you any rules, he knew what he was doing that night was wrong. Ethan’s friends all told him not to drive, and he had to have known at that point that driving was a bad idea. Yet he decided to drive, and killed four innocent people. I think this case is one of the big failures in our criminal justice system I will see in my lifetime. This boy, no matter how his parents raised him, killed four people. The article even said that the closest to a real medical condition this could be is narcissism, and that has never been used as a successful defense in court before. Ethan Couch deserves to be in prison for most of his adult life, like any other “regular” person would be.-OKC002
ReplyDeleteI believe that Couch is sick, but now with affluenza. The families of the lost deserve justice. Couch should be incarcerated for manslaughter. I agree, I to think this case is a huge immense failure in the criminal justice system. oasis_002
DeleteI think that affluenza can real and not real. What I mean for that is the symptoms are real and the name is not. I really think the parents are to blamed for this. Only because they do not discipline their kids at any age. Sadly I am seeing it in some young people today. They think they can do whatever they want when they want it. Then they think it is no big deal if they get caught. They just think they are cool or it is cool of what they done. They never take in consideration of what they did. Adelle002
ReplyDeleteThis article tells us about how the term well fake term of "affluenza" was used in this very corrupt court case. Yes I can understand if you are pampered all your life and it's a free for all and you get anything and everything you want and do anything you that it may cause some or very little effect on a person determining right from wrong. As humans even if we are not taught directly from our parents we mainly learn from our surroundings and learn by experience and by that Ethan should have learned enough to figure our what is right from wrong. Anyways it common sense I find this case to be very very upsetting for the families that have suffered and are still suffering. Justice was never served and obliviously this judge did not care about the victims or any other human being on earth. If it was a poor person they couldn't lock them up and throw them behind bars fast enough this just isn't fair to anyone. Last time I checked there wasn't and exception in the law saying if you are rich you get the easy way out. So why do we do it that way? It makes no sense. JE002
ReplyDeleteThis article pretty much explains a little deeper about the "AFFLUENZA" defense that was used to get a young boy off the hook for literately murdering 4 people and ruining countless more lives. I don't think having a ton of money should determine ones ability to know right from wrong. This kid has broken a few laws even before this case. This kids parents knew what type of child they had and knew his behavior and still did nothing to correct it. With this case it is setting the tone for other rich kids. This is pretty much telling them that no matter what kind of trouble I get myself into I can claim I didn't know better due to shitty parenting and being wealthy and get off just like Ethan Couch did. And the judge that overseen this case needs to have her head examined. This kid needed prison time for his actions and so did the parents for letting him do what he wanted. Ciaccio002
ReplyDeleteafter reading this the affluenza statement sorta had some facts behind because of the book but there was still no reason just because you don't get told no or your family is rich, doesn't mean you don't know right from wrong. everyone knew that he had to know that driving drunk and high on drugs was wrong. yes he got away with it and yes there is some right things about this but he should have went to prison. There are some things he might have done wrong and not knowing it was wrong because he was never disciplined but those things were all common sense in knowing he was wrong. oregon002
ReplyDeleteEthan Couch got off on such a short notice. Why? He got off because he got associated with a psychology term brought up in court. This term is keyed affluenza. Affluenza is basically a term for spoiled rich kids. His psychologists claimed that his parents wealth and pampered lifestyle taught Couch nothing about how to live in the real world. It taught him no responsibility, just selfish acts and greed. While this term got him off in the criminal courts, medical professionals do not accept the term. No matter how rich a person should know that killing is not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable that Couch can take the lives of four innocent individuals and get called “sick”. I totally agree that he is SICK! But, not in the terms of affluenza.
oasis_002