Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Unwelcome Salahi Party of Two 


This past November, Tareq and Michaele Salahi put on their best attire and attended a star studded state dinner at the White House. They excitedly snapped photographs with some of the evening’s biggest names, including Vice President Joe Biden, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Katie Couric. The following morning, Michaele, like so many others, logged onto her Facebook account to post pictures and status updates about the exclusive affair on her profile. 


Within hours, the pictures had garnered media attention and The Washington Post became the first paper to report on the mystery guests. By Wednesday, the Secret Service was alerted to news of the security breach after increased media attention revealed that the Salahis had never been invited to the dinner. The Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility quickly began reviewing the data from the dinner party. They quickly found that a checkpoint was responsible for the breach, after failing to follow proper procedures to verify that the couple was on the guest list. 

As news of the Salahis’ party crashing antics spread across the country, Americans everywhere were shocked at the thought that two uninvited people were granted access into the one of the most high profile, security-stacked events of the year. The Secret Service’s spokesman, Ed Donovan, rushed to defend the agency, assuring reporters that the President was in no immediate danger because the Salahis went through the same security screenings as every other guest. This point seems irrelevant and unworthy of praise; it goes without saying that anyone who enters a room with the President be subject to intensive security screenings beforehand. Even though they did not have weapons in their possession, the Salahis still gained access to a White House affair that was supposed to be closed to the public. This is a major breach in security, suggesting to outside parties that Presidential events may not be as well-guarded as one would assume. I feel like this makes us appear disorganized and weak to other countries, with a Saturday Night Live skit and various editorials devoted to mocking and analyzing the incident. 


Additionally, I think it’s fascinating that the Salahis essentially created this unflattering media attention themselves by posting their pictures to Facebook. Most people update their Facebook statuses and photo albums with their Friends List in mind; while they are aware that their ex-boyfriends and mother-in-laws may view their birthday party snapshots, it is quite unlikely that pictures from my family vacation will ignite a media frenzy. If, however, I attended a White House dinner to which I was not invited and managed to snag pictures with the President himself, I would probably be satisfied with a framed photo on my desk, rather than a detailed and cocky Facebook album. This logic leads me to believe that the Salahis, potential new cast members on Bravo’s hit reality franchise, “Real Housewives of D.C.,” fully intended to receive attention for their jaw dropping antics. The sheer nerve behind their actions and the ease with which Michaele posted their pictures on the Internet proves that the instant accessibility made possible by the mass media can breed an unhealthy sense of entitlement and exhibitionism. The Salahis clearly believed that they were worthy of fame and attention because of their socioeconomic status and used the mass media unfairly as a means of achieving their dishonest goals.

-Sarah

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