Mark Wahlberg Wants His Record Expunged So He Can Be a Cop

[PeaceNikki]

10. Nope. No, no, no. He only wants pardon so he can get CA liquor license.

Here's a great piece on the matter.

http://time.com/3623630/mark-wahlberg-pardon/

snip

On November 26, Wahlberg filed a petition to have his conviction expunged from his record. If Governor Deval Patrick issues any pardons, he should not waste one on Mark Wahlberg. Patrick’s record of being stingy with clemency will only make it look like a rich white celebrity can get anything he wants, even if that includes having his past forgiven from any youthful indiscretions. But based on the racially motivated nature of Wahlberg’s crimes, they seem to be a lot worse than shoplifting, small amounts of drug possession, or the odd DUI (though he has one of those too) that can plague many people.

This comes at an especially bad time with the protests in Ferguson and New York City, where black Americans are expressing their anger at being treated unfairly by the cops. Then in walks Mark Wahlberg, with his huge wallet, showing everyone that if you are white and privileged in this country, you should get special treatment. Wahlberg may have the necessary funds to pay for all the lawyers to shepherd through his pardon (again, something many people can’t afford), but he needs to pay for a better publicist. Not only is this appeal bringing more attention to his past arrests, but also making him look more like a jerk than he really is.

Having a conviction on your record can keep many people from voting or securing a job, so why is the artist formerly known as Marky Mark so concerned? It’s not like he has any shortage of money. So why the need for a pardon? He lists a few reasons.

“My prior record can potentially be the basis to deny me a concessionaire’s license in California and elsewhere,” he writes. Well, that hasn’t stopped him from opening several restaurants, including Wahlbergers, which has it’s own A&E show. And should the court really be concerned that a very rich man is not able to get even richer in a certain field? No, it should not. Doesn’t Wahlberg and his considerable capital have every available outlet to expand his fortune? Yes, he does.

He has other reasons. “I have become close with many members of the local law enforcement community in Boston and Los Angeles, including as a member of the board of directors of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Youth Foundation, which is dedicated to helping at risk youth,” he writes. But his record keeps him from working with at-risk youth.

This seems like a legitimate concern, but that doesn’t mean it’s insurmountable. As Gwynn Gilford points out on Quartz, the issues that effect Wahlberg because of his conviction affect many recovered felons. Rather than making things easier for a mediocre film actor, there should instead be new policies that make it easier for all recovered felons.

Why isn’t Wahlberg out there speaking out for reform in those areas and trying to repeal the silly laws that keep convicts from working in food service, for instance? That’s the sort of policy work he could do quite easily with his public profile. Look at what Jenny McCarthy has done for vaccine nuts, and she’s not nearly as famous or as likeable. Just like Wahlberg can have any job he wants, he can also do any sort of outreach he wants for any number of other issues, conviction be damned.

He BLINDED a man.

He beat up two Vietnamese men (one with a five-foot-long wooden pole) who he called “gooks” and other racial slurs. He also had an injunction against him for chasing down fellow residents of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and calling them racial slurs while throwing rocks at them. In 1992, after he had morphed into rapper Marky Mark, he repeatedly kicked another man in the head. And there was also a 1996 arrest for driving a boat under the influence.

Oh, and he was kicked out of Madonna's house for calling someone a 'homo'.

He's cute. He seems nice now... but, fuck him and his racist homophobic past. He needs to do a fuck of a lot more to atone for that shit than write a letter to the court.