Situational Ethics On Full Display!

These same people who were cheerleading the FBI not too long ago are now suddenly wanting that organization to be defunded just because Trump’s Mar-A-Lago abode got raided. I’m not surprised. These are also the same bigots who were screaming “back the blue” whenever there is a police brutality case (the George Floyd protests being a big example) before shouting “f*** the blue!” during the January 6th insurrection last year. They complain that the FBI is getting “too political” just because a former president is involved. Then again, Fred Hampton and Martin Luther King Jr. never threatened to kill anyone, but they were targeted and eventually assassinated when you have white supremacists who aren’t treated like that. Oh, but when it’s THEIR team facing searches and raids now it’s suddenly a problem. Those entitled bigots really have some nerve here. Yes, I’d be saying the same thing if Trump was a Democrat, so don’t play that partisan crap with me since I’m not affiliated with any political party. These terms about “Gestapo tactics” is a massive overstatement because white people are not treated like that in America even if they do something heinous. Phillip Scott is on point with his examples and commentary. I’m also not surprised when he brought up the statistics of Black children assumed to be doing something bad despite none of the kids regardless of their race doing anything disrespectful in the study groups. It’s sad, but not surprising. Phillip Scott was also correct in talking about not being able to say all the things he wants to not get a knock on his door and I agree. I’ve said controversial things and even then I have to word things a certain way even when I’m being harsh on someone or something. Think about it, you have all these mass shooters saying all kind of violent rhetoric before they go on a rampage, yet it’s never prevented. I would never spout those kinds of talking points or even act on doing something that evil and even I feel like I have to watch what I say or write about even if I’m talking about movies or music for example. It’s pure hypocrisy and I wish it wasn’t the case. Not going to lie, I’m curious to see what would happen if those charges stick.

People just don’t care about others unless something happens to them. I could quote a certain blogger on WordPress to accentuate my point about certain people not caring who was defensive at me on their blog despite the fact I wasn’t attacking them, but that would be incongruous for this situation. If that’s not a statement about how selfish and prejudicial people are, then I don’t know what is.

Christopher Belter only gets probation for multiple counts of sexual assault. SHAME!

Christopher Belter sexually assaults four underage girls and his punishment is 8 years of PROBATION?! Are you freaking serious? This case is another example of how there are massive double standards with the American (In)justice system. I felt so sickened by hearing this story, but I’m not even surprised anymore. The complexion for the protection (and a bit of money as well) certainly got Belter off of getting a one-way trip to the pen. Shoot, even one of the victims (who is white) said that he wouldn’t have gotten away with it if he was Black or brown. This is the Affluenza teen all over again, but with statutory rape instead of underage drinking, DWIs, and killing people in a car crash.

Also, where the Tartaros is #MeToo? You’ve got all that energy for R. Kelly, but aren’t calling out this guy? Oh, wait. These same people were also quiet about Rob Lowe, Roman Polanski, or the Dow family so I know what makes these same people scream about injustice or not. Your silence speaks volumes, you activists of convenience. You have people locked up for far less and that’s assuming if they haven’t been falsely accused of something. I do feel sorry for the victims and I hate how people like him get away with some of the most wicked crap imaginable. It’s no wonder you have idiots who like this system because they feel that they can get carte blanche for everything! People shouldn’t be telling me that we have a fair and just system. Spare me. I hope others see this and realize how messed up the (in)justice system is. Unbelievable…

The Universe’s Target

Some lessons and guidelines were downloaded in every brain

Except for one

The excuses rain down whenever bad behavior is shown

But for that loner, they’re automatically condemned

Kid gloves for the rest of the society and slaps on the wrists happen

Whether they be yelling, stealing, or storming prominent buildings

A decimal of that, and it’s an instant judgment on that individual

Seems as though the universe has one person to flog for the rest of their existence

Until someone takes their place

Were my issues against Disney fans stemmed with jealousy and not just hypocrisy from them?

Here’s a break from my poetry and other posts. I am aware about the serious issues going on from this week alone, so this isn’t me ignoring what’s going on around the world. This kind of started after listening to James Humphrey and Imo Emah’s podcast series where they critique some Disney movies of all things which were quite interesting. I’m glad they weren’t sycophants covering all these movies which was a huge plus. Going with that as well as still self-analyzing all the psychological damage I received in my life, I really got to thinking about how I was made fun of for what I liked as well as what I didn’t liked.

Before I get into these thoughts, I will promise you that I’m not going to beat a dead horse about that freaking 90s franchise that some of my regular readers know I love to bash on here and my film review blog. It’s much bigger than that.

Did I ever like Disney movies when I was a kid? Of course. I wouldn’t lie about that. I stopped watching them when I was in my teens mainly because I really got into anime as well as starting to check out international movies. What really ticked me off during my high school and college years was being a target of bullying for what I liked. Anime and some superhero stuff (I used to play HeroClix back in the day) more so during my teens while I was insulted for liking independent music during my time at university. While I was bullied for worse things like my heritage which I won’t deny, I was also made fun of at college for NOT liking Disney stuff. I thought that was weird because I thought it was too childish even though I never voiced it out loud to anyone. Yet at the same time even to this day, I see adults rocking merch from the House of Mouse and NO ONE says anything. I’m not just talking about people in their 20s or 30s, I mean people old enough to be my parents and even grandparents. Is liking Disney in America one of those “bully-proof” or “acceptable” hobbies like sports, shoes, cars, or premium cable TV shows (think about the stuff on HBO, AMC, FXX, or Showtime) where no one can make fun of you? I’ve wondered about that.

I absolutely hated how that fandom would be treated with Mickey Mouse gloves while I was a laughingstock for watching Gankutsuou or listening to Starflyer 59 among other examples. How was it that other people could watch “kiddie” movies and shows with no pushback? I’ve wondered that for years and I was furious on the inside. For years, I wanted to find ways where I can figure out people before I would insult them for what they liked if they had issues with me, but I never had the opportunity to do so. There were ideas of bashing the movies they watched, how they have bad animated role models, or how formulaic the plots are. As I got older, I got more rhetorical ammunition against that fandom with the racism, sexism, or malevolent corporate stuff I’ve learned about with the house that Walt built. If I knew about these issues then like I know now, I would give them all the riot act and try to verbally break their self-esteem as retaliation for all the insults I’ve received from them by dropping all these facts in their faces. There’s still vitriol against other fans that was compounded as I put up with petty insults as well as severe verbal attacks in different topics. It’s a miracle I didn’t blow up on bloggers who like the works from that company especially when it comes to multiple movie examples I’ve openly criticized including the one example I don’t need to bring up again at this time (trust me, I would’ve made some people look like hardcore bigots just with that one example if I knew all that baggage back then). Sometimes, I wonder how I can even read reviews from bloggers I enjoy that happen to cover movies from the Mouse and not have a conniption fit in the process. Yes, I still have anger about this subject with various fandoms being treated better than the topics I enjoy. No wonder I like other things like history, geography, and avant-garde stuff even though I also enjoy lesser topics.

As I continued this self-realization, I knew this was hypocrisy on them. I still hate how I get bashed for liking certain things while no one insults them or at the very least I don’t see them. Part of me wonders of there were other intersections about me that made me a target like race, my personality, mental health, etc. Part of it was jealousy. Even to this day, I struggle with sometimes caring too much about what others think. It’s really tough when I get demonized for standing up for myself even when I’m not doing or saying anything wrong. I even thought that if I had my way back then, I’d make sure people would be forced to respect my hobbies and interests while also having all the right rhetorical arguments to bash someone’s hobbies if they dared try to insult what I like. Look, I’m not Jesus here. I’m not trying to be some perfect individual or some flawless moral guardian. I don’t want to lie about some of the thoughts I had even when it comes to jealousy and sorting out my psychological baggage. There was jealously in wishing that I was never hurt by anyone no matter how petty or severe the attacks are against me. I was also angry how I felt like not many people were criticizing them or worse, extolling the bad things that have been documented. While I still get angry at people giving those movies and that company a pass for everything, part of that anger stems from jealousy and not just doing my best to call out evil in this world.

I know this isn’t some mind-enriching post, but I just feel like I have to get this off my chest as I’m still trying to make sense of my mental state.

The World Saw the Stark Contrasts

Imagine if their complexion was multiple shades darker.

In this idiotic chaos, the world saw the stark contrasts.

Not just with some donkeys and some elephants alike facepalming, but others from the globe shuddered.

Melanin would’ve been an instant conviction if the shoe was on the other foot.

Felony charges would be tossed around like candy.

A harsher response would’ve been an understatement as they wouldn’t have made it to the steps.

If looting is bad (which it is), then what about the podiums, documents, and other things?

Why didn’t those who stormed the building just comply?

Those who screamed “law and order!” last summer didn’t practice what they preached.

While numerous initialed powers do their research, more faces popped up albeit with no perp walks on the small screen.

Three piece suits, stethoscopes, and even those who didn’t wear badges that day were in trouble.

That’s not getting into the severe omission of masks and the disgusting amount of human excrement smeared or poured around.

Why the zip ties, molotovs, guns, and other harmful objects? How is a shirt with “6MWE” somehow less offensive than the word “equality” to them?

Patriots? Nothing says loving America like waving a flag used by traitors (did you read the sarcasm).

The world saw these stark contrasts.

Are sound minds too much to ask for?

What’s happening in Kenosha has me infuriated.

Before I get to these relevant issues, I want to make something clear. Even though I recently did those video projects and promoted the new Ospreyshire track, it doesn’t mean that I have been ignoring what’s going on. Being able to do videography gave me joy even with the hard work involved, but that euphoria has wavered before crashing when more things happened.

I’m sure you all know about Jacob Blake from Kenosha, Wisconsin by now. He’s a Black man who became another victim of racially-coded policing as he got shot 7 times behind his back in front of his kids in his car. Thankfully, he’s still alive, but he’s paralyzed for the waist down and could possibly be wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life. Yes, I heard about the story about how there was allegedly a knife on the driver’s side floor, but he was unarmed on his person, and I have suspicion of that knife being planted evidence. The cop who shot him is on administrative leave and the others with him didn’t have their body cameras on. The only reason people know this is because of that cell phone video. Recently, Blake’s dad found out that his son was handcuffed to a hospital bed when he visited him. ARE YOU SERIOUS? I’m sorry, but America has no right calling other countries out for human rights violations when devilry like this happens. What kind of a psychopath would handcuff a PARALYZED MAN to a hospital bed? It’s not like actual murderers get treated better than this. Yes, I’m being sarcastic and the next paragraph proves my point.

Protests erupted in that Southern Wisconsin city to the surprise of no one. However, there was a so-called militia that walked around armed to the teeth. One such member was the 17 year old Kyle Rittenhouse from Antioch, IL. This thug shoots three protestors and killed two of them. There was video of him walking around right by Kenosha PD, and nobody does anything to him! He didn’t get arrested until after the fact and he’s now being charged with 1st degree murder among other crimes. I’m glad they pressed charges, but I’m not celebrating until there’s a conviction. If Rittenhouse is convicted he’ll be in jail for life without parole. So let me get this straight…someone gets paralyzed for breaking up a fight, but a double murder suspect is arrested while unscathed? This destroys the credibility of Kenosha PD and I’m glad people are seeing the stark contrast in treatment. As one can see the meme above, it also shows that if you’re Black with a toy gun, you get riddled with bullets no questions asked. But someone with a real gun can kill people and is treated so much more humanely. Rittenhouse is a hardcore blue lives matter supporter and was radicalized online, so that explained a lot about his actions. Do you think an armed Black or Arab teen would get the same treatment in that case by gunning down people?

I do have an interesting perspective on this situation because I have actually been to both Kenosha and Antioch before. I don’t know any of the people involved in this case, but I do have familiarity with those areas. The thing is I used to live not far from both places during my teenage years. Lake County, Illinois is the northeastern-most county in the state and it’s also the 2nd wealthiest (DuPage is #1 in the Land of Lincoln). When my family lived there, it was because of my dad’s job as a pastor and we lived in a parsonage in one of the suburbs. My family would’ve never been able to afford to live in most of the towns in any other situation. We were middle-class from an annual income standpoint, but we were one of the poorest families in where we lived. Not all of Lake County is like this, but I’ve visited towns with more McMansions, Benzes and North Face jackets than I would be accustomed to. Antioch is a majority white (88.79% according to their last census) town that would be considered upper-middle class. It’s also not far from Kenosha, since it’s right on the IL/WI border. Some of you that actually read my books would know that one of my characters Rozenn Padgett from Hollandus Landing is from that town, but I digress. So many people I’ve met from the more affluent parts of the county have come off as fake, entitled, and racist to me with dog whistles and more overt reasons. There have been times where I’d shop in some of the stores and I’d be followed around even though I was going to buy something. During my high school years, I would hear stories of teens doing hard drugs and drinking, but never got punished since their parents were school board members, cops, lawyers, city council members, etc. Kenosha on the other hand is a more diverse place. It was closer to get to than Chicago during those times, and parts of it felt like a mini-Milwaukee. I didn’t have too many issues over in that city, but some people treated me worse than others. It’s just a shame that this tragedy just ripped apart that city.

I’ve been so angry at what’s going on in the 4th largest city in Wisconsin, let alone this country. You’d think that after what happened to George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, that people would have more sense when it comes to race relations, but to say we have a long way to go is an understatement. I’m trying to be as civil as I can in this post because I have so much internalized rage from hearing these stories that I don’t bust a blood vessel or anything like that. Is justice too much to ask?

One by one, more companies are pulling ads from Facebook

It all started with North Face removing ads from Zuckerberg’s brainchild and it’s snowballing pretty hard. In case you’re wondering why North Face, REI, Upwork, and several other companies are following suit to pull ads is because of FB’s double standards with treating hate groups compared to anti-racist posts.

I distinctly remember a story a few years ago where a Black woman did a simple #SupportBlackBusinesses hashtag which is quite innocent. However, her account got suspended for a week or two after posting that on her status. Conversely, there have been multiple white supremacy groups functioning on the site and they rarely ever get punished. So many companies are seeing the clear hypocrisy and decided to cash out as to not be a part of anything bigoted (I’m being generous here, but I do appreciate them seeing some kind of morality in this case). So apparently, Facebook can lose over $70 billion this month? WOW! Just, wow. It’s also a good thing I haven’t been on Facebook in years as it started getting toxic even when I left. I couldn’t imagine how bad it’s been since then.

Maybe this will get Zuckerberg to finally stop coddling hate groups? We’ll see…

Another proof positive example of color-coded injustice. Exhibit A: Sebastian Arzadon in Lawrenceburg, TN

I wasn’t aware about this story until just yesterday. Boy, do I need to talk about this. In Lawrenceburg, TN, there was a double murder suspect named Sebastian Arzadon who was finally caught by police. What did the cops do while he was detained? He got free bottled water and medical treatment! Wow, if I saw that video out of context and with no commentary, I would’ve thought they were treating some person who saved a child or animal from a fire or an emergency situation. I’m sure people like George Floyd for example got similar treatment despite not killing anyone, right?

Oh, wait. He’s dead!

Lawrenceburg PD, thank you for proving the anti-racist organizations right. If you wonder why people chant “Black lives matter”, this is one of the reasons why. I’m also glad Phil brought up the similarities with Dylann Roof whom as you remember killed 9 people at a church and got free Burger King from the feds. This is unbelievable. Some may argue that it’s a different police department in another state or that Arzadon didn’t resist arrest.

Neither did George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castille, Terrence Crutcher, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, and so many more. That argument is invalid.

That police chief in the video who said they would treat anyone the same way regardless of race is such an obvious lie that if Pinocchio said the same thing, his nose would grow a foot longer instantly. I have NEVER seen a Black person get treated that way ever in my life in America. If someone argues that this country treats murderers better than innocent people or at least those with non-violent crimes, then this is one example. You can also add Brock Turner, Ethan Couch, Niklaus Cruz, and others on that list, too.

I do tip my hat off to the internet and Snoop Dogg for calling this stuff out and meme-ing this clear double standard.

I get tired of being kind sometimes.

We now interrupt my typical Ospreyshire Origins posts involving the Dear Innovare…album for something different.

Before I get into this impromptu post, I want to say that I appreciate those who have recently followed my blog and who have been liking and/or commenting on my posts. I really appreciate it. I need to do something special after having over 300 followers on this blog. We’ll see.

Getting that out of the way, I’ve been getting frustrated at the moment. I will say that nothing drastic or dramatic has happened to me, so you all can calm down a bit. When I’m not working, editing my next books, reading other books, or reviewing movies or anime, I’ve been internalizing a lot of anger and frustration. It’s a bad habit of mine since I felt like I’ve never been “allowed” to express it for most of my life. How ironic. I’ve seen certain individuals have hissy fits, cluster F-bombs, and have shouting matches, yet nothing bad happens to them.

Normally, I do my best to be kind offline and online. Kindness is a virtue which I’m sure we can all agree on. However, I wish people wouldn’t mistake it for weakness. Unfortunately, I’ve been having a need to drop hard truths to others even though I’ve been wont to do that on here and other blogs. Other issues and having some realization about hard truths in life has caused me to be irate on the inside. I wish I could go back in time to change every mistake and even to counter against those who disrespected me. Shame how time machines don’t exist. There have been times where I’ve been proven right in hindsight about how people can do criminal behavior and are treated better than me or have sympathizers as I’ve done far less and people yell at me or treat me like garbage in the past.

I thought to myself. What if I got to be tougher and more abrasive against others if/when they deserve it?

I was never the bully since I was bullied a lot in my life. There have been times recently where I’ve given people the silent treatment if I don’t like them even if it is immature. I’ve also been researching ways to win arguments, so I can verbally bash others for their ignorance. There have even been moments of me shaming some bloggers just for liking a certain movie that won’t be mentioned here. I’ve been shamed for liking things, so I felt like I deserved to do the same to others. I was tired of being kind to those who didn’t deserve it.

Maybe this is some kind of evolution or maybe something is wrong with me that I’ve gotten to this point. Relax, I won’t be trolling others or bullying people. I’m not good enough at insults to do that. What I want to do is to tell truth and to be more honest with my thoughts with others.

It always seems like those who disrespect me always get what they want. [sigh] I wish I didn’t have to feel this way. I can’t lie to anyone on here or my other blogs.

Do you (or should you) separate the artist from the art pt. II: What if the art IS part of the vices?

This was a topic I wanted to revisit again, but I want to cover a certain aspect of it. If you don’t know about my thoughts on whether artists and art should be separated, then you can check out that previous post here.

Now let’s get to the subject at hand.

Some of you already know that I have a very hard time separating the art from the artist especially if they do really bad things. It was interesting seeing people respectfully disagreeing with me for most of my comments. This brings up a question for you: What if the art IS part of the vices? Would you still separate the two from each other?

How could the art be involved in an author’s misdeeds or sins? Here are a few ways that could happen.

I guess one way would be the artist incorporating their deeds in their work or making a message that’s antithetical to their actions. It would be like if some creator had some villains murdering people, yet the author murders someone. That would be far harsher in hindsight. Or maybe they have a message against wars, but they end up howling for blood against another country. Those would be some examples on how that could be the case.

Another case would be if the work is plagiarized. Okay, some of you have seen this coming. Don’t worry, I won’t mention the obvious examples of cinematic plundering done by Disney, Christopher Nolan, or Suzanne Collins since you should already know those examples. I’ll use different examples. Look at Led Zeppelin. They made a career ripping off blues and folk songs. Eventually they got sued and were forced to give royalties and writing credits to most of the songs they stole from. I also pray that Spirit wins that appeal and sues Zeppelin’s pants off for them stealing “Taurus” to make “Stairway to Heaven”. I hate how that band gets a free pass for thievery. If any older person (or at the very least a classic rock purist) says that newer music just rips things off, show them the songs that band stole from to shut them up. Anyways, I need to get back on topic. Art theft gets tricky because those bad things are in their stolen creations. You could even go to those rock artists ripping off Black blues and original rock artists (**cough** Elvis **cough**) without paying dues to who they stole from. You have patents stolen like how Edison totally ripped off Nikola Tesla, Lewis Howard Latimer (there would be no efficient light bulbs had it not have been for his carbon filament!), and Granville T. Woods to name a few for his technological empire. At least Woods sued Edison twice and WON when he proved he made those patents instead of that overrated thief of an inventor. I have no respect for people who steal other people’s creative works. It’s lazy, intellectually insulting, and it shows how they are lesser beings because they stole from someone else. I can’t separate the art from the artist if it’s stolen.

What I wonder is why horrible people get free rides for their creations while others are obscured or demonized? How is it that an originator get crapped on for daring to sue the person or people who stole from them? For those who separate the art from the artists, what would cause you to stop or rather at what point can you not forgive the artist? Hey, I’m just staying in the question lane here.

Feel free to leave your comments on this matter.