Reality overcomes the myth

Published 2:56 pm Monday, July 12, 2010

As teen fugitive Colton Harris-Moore’s two-year crime spree grew into a media obsession, so did complaints that he was being glorified by all the coverage. Yet, we suspect, even many of those level-headed readers couldn’t resist the story completely.

But judging from the photos of his arrest Sunday in the Bahamas, glory was far from the top of Harris-Moore’s mind. Even if it surfaces there eventually, it will be mitigated by what figures to be a very long stint in prison — the outcome he so richly deserves.

That others may profit from Harris-Moore’s criminal behavior — book and movie deals are already in the works, and his mother is being advised by an entertainment lawyer — is a sadly predictable reflection of our societal obsession with celebrity, for which the bar is set decidedly low.

It should go without saying that Harris-Moore is no one to idolize. He’s the product of a deeply troubled childhood whose brazen crimes injected fear into the tranquil communities of Camano Island and beyond. He’s obviously smart and resourceful, but so are the scores of high-achieving teens featured on the pages of this and other newspapers each year.

Unlike Harris-Moore, they’re contributers, embodying society’s best aspirations.

Harris-Moore’s story created a buzz the same way tales of other outlaws have throughout history. He was an interesting character who, for a time, defied the odds against him. The difference today is that Facebook and other online gossip rooms spread such buzz farther and faster. As it usually does, the myth that was constructed obscured the reality of the outlaw’s wasted potential.

Those who cheered for this young crook would do well to spend less of their life in front of a computer screen and more in the real world, where real crimes have real consequences — for victim and perpetrator alike. As a humbled Harris-Moore faces his, the “cults” who have made him a “hero” will have to turn elsewhere. No doubt their short attention spans were spent, anyway.

Colton Harris-Moore is no hero. Some of his crimes were bold, but hardly the stuff of legend. In the end, this tall, lanky, shackled and sunken-headed 19-year-old was a picture of desperation, of lost hope. Of poor decisions by his parents and himself. Of opportunities missed.

Not exactly the stuff of glory.