Healthcare Matters

Someone actually broke the Vegas code. A basic human rights violation if ever there was one. And even worse, the TMZ entertainment network actually paid the person to do it. A pox on them! Isn’t anything sacred anymore? I mean, we live in a world where mocking Rosie O’Donnell for not dying of a heart attack is fair game, so it’s not like we’ve imposed unreasonable limits on our media’s  ability to express its bad taste.

When I looked up the “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” expression –just to make sure I got it right for this post—I was confronted with evidence that my outrage was widely shared. I was relieved.

The “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” code was broken this week when someone partying with Prince Harry snapped photos of the naked royal covering his crown jewels and cuddling a nude woman in a hotel suite after a routine game of “strip billiards.” How dare TMZ break the code and allow what happened in Las Vegas to leave Las Vegas. That’s actually how the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority (LCVA) reacted. Obviously, they are not taking this violation lightly. Nor should they.

“Las Vegas is about adult freedom.”  That has been LCVA’s spokeswoman Courtney Fitzgerald’s official response. “It’s important for friends to know what activities can be shared publicly and what activities are protected by the code.” Today, the city tourism arm is launching an ad campaign condemning the person who took the photos of Harry that wound up on TMZ.com and have been viewed around the world.

“For Shame! To those who traded in their pledge to their Las Vegas brethren, WE DEPLORE YOU,” the ad reads in part. “We are calling on you, the defenders of what happens in Vegas staying in its rightful place — in Vegas.” The ad urges readers to sign a pledge to keep Vegas indiscretions in Vegas and to report offenders who share embarrassing Vegas pics on Facebook.

I want to say “thank you” to Prince Harry. You reminded me that when life gets you down a bit (I’ve had a rough few weeks for sure) there are always options. Sure the Prince is going to face “a few raised eyebrows” when he gets home, but if I were Harry, other than to say that “the room had a bit of a chill,” I would not comment on the incident. He has the opportunity to demonstrate his “royal highness”  by keeping his mouth shut and showing respect for what may be his former colony’s most noble and civilized tradition.

—Tom Finn