I'm seeing an awful lot of stuff like, "The bribery scandal is no more abhorrent than the completely legal industry that helps many wealthy kids get into the schools of their dreams."

That's the sub-headline of a column at the NYT that I am not bothering to read. I'm seeing this argument all over Facebook and on the front pages of plenty of newspapers, and I don't like it.

It strikes me as the equivalent of letting a robber, caught red-handed, argue that there are so many things that are essentially theft — worse things really! — so what's the big deal?

In fact, I'd be more sympathetic to the robber, since he may have grown up as a deprived outsider who might think the rules never work for him at all. But these rich people in the college admissions scheme have had the advantages and have benefited by and used the rules in their favor and still want more, and of course, they'd call the cops if anyone committed a crime against them.

I do not want to see these people get off easy on some bullshit theory that the whole system is rigged. Those of us who've tried to live an ethical life and follow the rules don't want to hear that the rules don't matter. What kind of message is that?

Sure, fix things in college admissions that are rigged in favor of the rich, but don't tell me what these people did — if they did it — is just part of a big amorphous mess of privilege. They're accused of crimes, and they deserve the same treatment we give to other criminals. Other problems, outside of the criminal sphere, deserve attention too, but don't let criminals obfuscate their way out of their predicament. That's another rich-guy move!