Not everyone loves a rock star. In fact, plenty of people don't like them at all, or at least aren't willing to forgive them their trespasses when they act like ... well, rock stars.
Call them The Man, The Right or Señor Killjoy, but some people insist on holding rock stars accountable to the same laws that govern the rest of us.
Ridiculous, I know. Which makes it all the more momentous that legendary frontman Jim Morrison may finally be forgiven for a now-legendary bit of rock-star impropriety connected to a Doors concert at Miami's Dinner Key Auditorium in 1969.
After the concert, a warrant was issued to arrest Morrison, a native Floridian, citing lewd behavior during the show, including intentionally exposing himself, public drunkenness and swearing - you know, normal rock-star stuff.
When he refused to play a free concert in Miami as part of a proffered plea bargain, Morrison was handed a six-month prison sentence and a $500 fine. Morrison left the country and died in a bathtub in Paris on July 3, 1971, before serving any of his sentence.
Earlier this week, various Internet sources reported that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who recently lost a bid for the U.S. Senate to Marco Rubio, was considering granting Morrison a pardon as he winds out the rest of his term, which ends in January.
While such a decision would be well-received by Doors fans who have been clamoring for a pardon for years, it seems of dubious value to Crist. I'd say he was appealing to younger voters, but as of yet, he hasn't announced his political plans. Maybe he just wants to be remembered for something other than being a victim of an embarrassing political defeat.
Regardless of Crist's intentions, if granted, this pardon would be the latest in a long line of get-out-of-jail-free cards (or perhaps "it's OK you didn't go to jail" cards, to be more accurate) offered up to rock idols.
This April, Pope Benedict XVI made headlines by praising The Beatles, calling their music beautiful, and forgiving their drug use, excessive lifestyle and John Lennon's infamous (if oft-misinterpreted) comment about the band being "bigger than Jesus."
In 2006, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was pardoned by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee for a reckless-driving citation Richards was issued in 1975 while driving through Arkansas on the way to Dallas with bandmate Ron Wood.
During a 2008 interview with GQ Magazine, Huckabee said he offered the pardon to Richards as a way to "have a clean start in Arkansas." I'm sure Richards was finally able to sleep peacefully as a result.
Of course, rock isn't the only genre to benefit from a little political cheek-turning. In 1972, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, pardoned Merle Haggard for an attempted robbery in Bakersfield, Calif.
Clearly, in a game with as complicated a rule set as politics, any attempt to gain notoriety is worthwhile, regardless of its efficacy, even if it means exorcising 40-year-old, long-forgotten ghosts. Spooky stuff.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205.