Insanity...When Is A Good Time?

This piece is actually about Charlie Sheen, not Aileen Wuornos (pictured) but they both bring up an interesting question for me...When is the most socially acceptable time to go completely insane?

Let's face it, insanity is tolerated under the right circumstances, but what are those circumstances? To find out I think we should work backwards on this question. When is insanity really NOT cool?


1. When you are poor.
Insane homeless people are pretty much unacceptable anywhere at anytime. Though they may be mildly entertaining when accosting other people, they are simply too unpredictable. Will they sing and dance for nickles, or smash your head in with a paving stone? You never can tell.
Charlie Sheen: Rich
Aileen Wuornos: Poor.

2. When you are violent.
Ok, Charlie Sheen may have smashed a few cameras in his day, and roughed up a few "nobodies" at his favorite watering holes, but he has not killed. Aileen Wuornos shot and killed seven men that picked her up on Florida freeways. Being a Hollywood badboy is one thing, but sending a .22 caliber bullet rattling around some poor john's head for sixty bucks and a beat up Buick Skylark is another.
Charlie Sheen: Mildly Violent
Aileen Wuornos: Extremely Violent.

3. When you are ugly.
The bloom may be a bit off the rose with Charlie, but still we all remember him from Wall Street and that carries a lot of weight. Plus men get more "distinguished" with time, women are unfortunately not awarded that luxury. The better you look the more chance you have of getting away with insanity.
Charlie Sheen: Good Looking
Aileen Wuornos: Ugly

4. When you talk too much (at the wrong time).
Incessant ranting and rambling on daytime television, fine. Incessant ranting and rambling on the stand at your own murder trial, no. Charlie knows when to behave. When you are talking to some shmuck on Fox News or Oprah Winfrey, sure, rant away. When the judge is about to hand down a sentence, shut up.
Charlie Sheen: Knows When To Shut Up
Aileen Wuornos: Don't.

Basically if you are rich, good looking, mildly violent, and know when to shut up, feel free to go insane. If not, try to hold yourself together because you won't be on Oprah Winfrey talking about rehab and what it was like to work with Michael Douglas, but you may wind up in Florida's lethal injection chamber.