Between The Lines

Why are we seemingly more shocked at the news of a supermodel taking drugs than we appear to be at the stories of professional misconduct in an illegal war? Surely drugs and a hedonistic lifestyle are as much a part of the territory for a model as violence is for a soldier. So why does it come as such a surprise when a woman, who's whole adult life and career has been geared towards the celebration of high living and trivial posturing, does something as mundane as taking a few lines of cocaine with her junkie boyfriend? Some people have said that it has been Miss Moss's looks that have protected her up till now but wasn't it just that no one had published a photograph of her taking drugs? I'm sure that those few lines were really just all in a days work for her and that she's been much more debauched than that before. The whole story reeks of jealousy and envy and diversion. Miss Moss lives the kind of life that most of us can only dream of but that's not to say that we wouldn't step into her expensive designer shoes if we could. The popular media can "tut-tut" at her behaviour but only hypocritically because most of the writers have probably done exactly the same thing only, perhaps, not as part of Kate's entourage. And after all what else is she going to do with her money? She's not going to wipe out third world debt is she? I doubt she really ever thinks long and hard about it. She's living only to satisfy her senses as most of us are. She just gets to do it in a more lavish way than most. She's been brought up to be an avatar of style. Her world is that of the dressing up box, and to give her credit, she plays the parts that she's dressed for very well. She brings a touch of authenticity to the wasted drug chic look.
The Moss story has dominated the news this weekend but, while the Nation seemed hypnotised by the lurid stories about the models private life, thousands of anti-war demonstrators were marching in London. The Stop The War Coalition was calling for British troops to be brought back from Iraq after the debacle in Basra but this important story really didn't get a look in next to Kate's sex and drug scandal. Miss Moss seems to be a handy media diversion when more important stories with greater political relevance need to be buried, like the one about the seventeen members of the Welsh Guards, who Prince William trained with last summer, who all tested positive for drugs yesterday.