Status and Role Imbalance
When the college admissions scandal (Varsity Blues Scandal) broke in the news in 2019, many “Full House” fans were shocked to hear that “Aunt Becky” was among 33 parents being accused of cheating to get their children into prestigious colleges. Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli allegedly paid $500,000 to have test scores adjusted for their daughters and to enable them to be enrolled as Crew team recruits [3]. Loughlin known lovingly by her fans, since 1987 as “Aunt Becky” on the television series “Full House” was suddenly in the spotlight for something out of her normally perceived character. What would lead a respected actress to be willing to break the law to get her children into a certain college?
I propose the reason is a conflict between the expectations of status and the need to fulfill a societal role. Each of us has several statuses within society such as parent, soldier or girlfriend. With each status there are a number of norms known as agreements. These agreements are what help an individual conform to the expectations of those with whom they interact [2]. Loughlin not only had a status to uphold as a respected actress, but also as a mother. In an interview with the 700 club in 2014, she said her children were the most important thing to her [1]. She recognized that for her children to retain their status among their peers, they needed to attend a prestigious college.
Loughlin maintains her innocence and has pled not guilty to the charges. It’s not critical to the argument as to whether she believes what she did was illegal or not. What is critical here is the need she felt to do what she did in order to protect her status and that of her children. Unfortunately, in this case her effort to maintain her status means serious consequences for many. First, it means the possibility of a jail sentence for both her and her husband. Second, it means the loss of a job. Third, it means embarrassment, loss of endorsements and being kicked out of college for her daughters, the ones she believes she was trying to help. Fourth, and most importantly for her personally, is how it affects her family, with her relationships having the possibility of becoming strained.
Fifth, indirectly affected are any prospective college students who had hoped to be enrolled in the colleges to which the children of the 33 parents had gotten their children accepted into. The row team must have been short rowers and any number of prospective students might have been willing to at least put an oar in their hands and show up for practice. Sixth, anyone who has ever attended any of these colleges has the potential to be affected by this scandal. A person with a degree from these colleges has a multiplicity of advantages over other college graduates. This scandal brings into question the quality of students graduating from these colleges. The implications in the effort of Loughlin and the others in the scandal are far reaching as they strived to fill the role that they perceive their status requires.
Those involved in the Varsity Blues Scandal had a status they wanted to maintain. So, what might be the results when someone who does not have the status they want and therefore change their role to create a perceived status? When Jeffrey B. Lyons, CEO of Worley and Obetz went missing one afternoon in May 2018, what resulted in the wake of his disappearance was the unraveling of a company and the discovery of fraud, involving several banks and millions of dollars. What led this man and his two accomplices to commit this fraud? Frank Macciocca, specialist in forensic accounting and fraud investigations says that those who commit fraud use rationalization to convince themselves that what they are doing is not intended to hurt the company and they will pay the money back. Psychological pressure and personal pressure are often the reasons behind it. Organizational leaders are often the ones committing fraud because they are given a lot of respect and trust due to their charismatic personalities. [6]
In recent days, it has been revealed through multiple news media and legal records that Lyons owned a big house, a vacation home and a house purchased for his mistress. For Lyons there was a status and role imbalance. He wanted to be able to provide for his family and girlfriend the luxuries that his income did not allow. Whether he believed he was under paid in his mind is only known by God. However, his lifestyle beyond his income in some way allowed him to rationalize the fraud.
For Lyons this decision to commit a crime in the pursuit of a particular status and role, as with Loughlin, has resulted in painful consequences. His need for an elevated status has resulted in the loss of his wife, his houses, his job and most probably his future freedom. The desire to create for yourself a status role imbalance can lead to great destruction. Also affected by his choice are several banks including Fulton Bank who lost millions of dollars. 250 people who were in employed by the now defunct Worley and Obetz lost their employment.
Perhaps the most interesting phenomenon of status and role is the case of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollet, who allegedly paid two men to fake an attack on him. As an actor on a popular show, Smollet enjoys a status not always given to racial minorities and homosexuals. In his position he stepped out of the expectations of his role and acted as victim of racial and gender abuse. It’s unclear what his motives were. There have been several suggestions as to motive bandied around the media, one being that it was a ploy to get more pay for his role in “Empire”. Another suggestion was that because he reported that his attacker was wearing a MAGA (Make America Great Again) hat, it was politically motivated. Whatever the reason, it was a move to change his perceived status and role.
As with the other examples, there is fallout from these actions. First, Smollet lost his job. Whether he was attacked or not or he is innocent of the charges, the society in which he lives has made their determination and his role in “Empire” has been eliminated. Second, several of those involved in the investigation have been accused of wrong doing and a federal investigation has been started to determine if laws were broken. Third, the cause for equality has been tainted. This situation has created the opportunity for those who do not think racial inequality is real, to use this as an example of false racial issues.
Long term repercussions for Lyons will probably end with prison and him not returning to the status he once enjoyed. Others in the Varsity Blues Scandal who have pled guilty have received prison time so it is likely that if Loughlin is found guilty, she too will spend time in prison. The investigation into the allegations for Smollet make it unclear if he will be charged for a crime with Smollet and his lawyers maintaining his innocence [7]. For Loughlin and Smollet even if they serve time in prison, because they live in a society where ethics are often transitional, they may be able to return to their original status. Loughlin who continues to maintain her innocence is outraged that people are calling her a cheater and believes she will be vindicated. She believes that she is no different than other people who make donations to colleges all the time in exchange for their children being enrolled [5].
Wanting to maintain or create a perceived status and role or failing to live up to one, is not new to civilization. The Bible gives us examples of those who had an imbalance of role and status. In Acts 5, Ananias and Saphira sold their land and lied about giving all to the ministry. They wanted to have the recognized status of giving all their wealth when in reality they were not following through on the expected role. In the Gospels, Judas Iscariot had the status of one of Jesus’ disciples and yet he chose to betray Jesus for several pieces of silver, abandoning his role, creating an imbalance of status and role and ultimately leading to his death.
During an appearance in on the 700 Club in 2014, Loughlin said she has chosen wholesome roles in her acting career, because she never wanted to do anything that her father could not view. She also said, “I don’t want to do anything that one day might rear its ugly head and my children have to pay the price for that”. When asked if she was a person of faith, her response was to say that she believed in God and that she prayed [1]. In response to that I would have quoted James 2:19 which says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.”
Only God knows the heart of a man and I can’t know if Loughlin has the status of child of God or is simply playing the role. This is a status and role imbalance that can end in disaster, even greater than the those above, if it is only a persona. It is important that we truly know that we have a relationship with Jesus Christ through confession of sin and acceptance of his forgiveness and redemption through the cross. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9 NIV). This is a status and role imbalance that is positive and is available to everyone. Our status as Christians allows us to receive in our role riches that far exceed our status.
References:
[1] “The 700 Club — May 13, 2014.” CBN.com, 13 Apr. 2015, www1.cbn.com/video/700club/2014/5/13/the-700-club-may-13–2014.
[2] Grunlan, Stephen A., and Milton Reimer. Christian Perspectives on Sociology. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001.
[3] MEDINA, KATE TAYLOR and JENNIFER, et al. “College Admissions Scandal.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/news-event/college-admissions-scandal.
[4] NIV Thinline Reference Bible. Zondervan, 2011.
[5] Swift, Nicky. “We Finally Understand Why Lori Loughlin Rejected Her Plea Deal.” We Finally Understand Why Lori Loughlin Rejected Her Plea Deal, 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZmPk8H19Z4.
[6] White, Shelby. “Company’s Collapse Continues to Echo.” Central Penn Business Journal, vol. 34, no. 24, June 2018, pp. 1–9.
[7] Jacobs, Julia. “Jussie Smollett Case: What Do We Know, and What’s Left to Investigate?” The New York Times, 2019.
