Thursday, March 31, 2022

Well, As Long as We've Turned This Event Into Its Own Hollywood Reality Show With Teams, for Maximum Drama ...


(PS added) 


I read a comment under that absurd Newsweek article that popped up as a "breaking news alert" on my screen, which I mentioned in the post below.

The person - who was a person of color from Alabama - said this didn't start out as a publicity stunt, but it's turned into one, nearly a full-on Reality TV show, complete with teams - and that it actually is now an election -  because of the Oscar's Governor's Board upcoming vote on the situation.

He suggested - tongue-in-cheek, of course - a new reality TV show, that includes Chris, Will, Kanye, and Joe Rogan, presided over by Judge Mathis!

LOLOLOL!

Hilarious. 

My idea, replying to that, is that after that, then we could renew Celebrity Deathmatch from MTV, recreate them in claymation to fight in a ring, then shake hands later  ;)




We could also invite Kanye and Pete - or Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin versus the paparazzi - or versus everybody?" lol

;) 

(I'm TOTALLY joking - just stretching out the point about how absurdly Reality TV this situation has become - complete with teams now -  to the point of the absurd, to illustrate just how absurd it has actually become.


-OR-

We could all just grow up and take responsibility for this absurd, reality-TV culture we've ALL helped create and cheered on, instead of acting like we didn't and that we're appalled when we now elect nasty Reality-TV presidents or these things happen on live TV?


The above-mentioned commenter also had the idea of creating "Bad Boys IV" with Chris, Will, and Martin Lawrence."

Totally down for that ... 


________________________


PS 

We were all having a great discussion - until the trolls arrived, who immediately went after the commenter that mentioned he was of color - reminding me of why I rarely comment anywhere.

Not wanting to leave this commenter on his own, I left a reply under the troll's main comment, then left ...









In case the print is too small to read, I'm not repeating the racist words about violence being in black DNA by someone called "Buster Hymen" ... but here was my reply:   



"Oh, yay, the racist trolls are here. Your violent white grandfathers must've liked their DNA, because so many of them forced themselves on black women to produce children -  which perhaps accounts for your moniker? ;)  
Two words to disprove you: "Bloody Harlan" - in my state of Kentucky - 96% white, Republican, and Christian, it's one of the most violent, gun-and-drug-addled communities in the country, such that it's been featured in countless TV shows like "Justified," movies, and documentaries. Violence is most correlated in in communities that have chronic economic deprivation and chronic frustration - not with race. 

 

PS - And by the way, I'm a woman, "Dude" - a white woman - who isn't jumping on the curiously mostly white, white-fragility, male-and-female-Karen, "I'm-traumatized-just-from-watching" overreaction bandwagon to Will's overreaction,  
I will also not be joining the "Loyal Brotherhood of Comedians" to support JUST Chris, which apparently is a union that rivals that of cops lol. 
I was upset with both men for different reasons and to different levels, but I also have empathy for both men (and Jada) for different reasons and to different levels - and that's not going to change despite absurd "campaign" articles like this.







This Was Seriously Newsweek's News Alert Pop-Up, Just Now - LOL! *Sigh*

 

So I got a pop-up alert on my screen from Newsweek this morning - would you believe this is what it was?








A "semi-scientific" study conducted by "Bet Online?" 

Well, that's a reliable source - because of course we all participate in polls run by online betting sites, tweeted about it, or are even on Twitter? lol.

Well, it's good to know these same mature, moral people who feel the need to take sides are also taking bets on the situation and people's careers and lives.


This isn't an election - and it's garbage like this that just makes me - and other mature people -  more entrenched in NOT taking sides  -  because we don't have to. 

Again - we can still like both men, have empathy for both men (and Jada), and feel disappointed in both men.



Author Ryan Smith and Newsweek?

I'd be ashamed of this garbage, if I were you - you're undermining your own credibility, now - in a world where there's  already enough undermining of legitimate science and factual reporting over politics.


SMH, people - I swear to goodness - where y'all are taking this is just as morally depraved and divisive as anything we saw at the Oscars - I'm about to cancel-culture evvvvverrrrybody lol




Bruce Willis's Retirement and Aphasia


 


Here's a new topic Hollywood could and should be talking about - Bruce Willis stepping away from acting due to aphasia.

What is aphasia?

The inability to communicate clearly - usually speech, but it can also affect the ability to write, read, and sometimes understand language.  

Aphasia is usually part of a broader diagnosis, which as of yet, we don't know, only that he had been experiencing "health problems recently."

It is usually caused by stroke or head injury, and sometimes followed by, or a precursor to, dementia.

My husband, Mark, suffered from aphasia with is stroke in 2017, but luckily was able to recover (although he occasionally gets a word wrong (but not noticeable, because we all do sometimes), but the most noticeable place is trying to write, type, or text.

Very sad news -  we hope for Bruce a full recovery, but if not possible, at least no further decline ...



Wednesday, March 30, 2022

OK, Ladies (The View, Wanda Sykes, and Ellen) - If Will Overshadowed Other Oscar Winners, Why Are You Still Talking About Him, 3 Days Later? LOL


(PS added)


Ladies? 

I love all of you listed in my title, I really do - but how can I say this as gently as I can, at this point? 

How about we give it a rest and just let the dust settle and talk about something else now? 

I mean, it's been three days and some of us have hoped for discussion about anything else BUT that incident lol.


We get it -  Chris Rock is your fellow-comedian friend and you want us to canonize him a saint and demonize Will as Satan incarnate lol.

We also get that your other possible motivations for cheerleading for "Team Chris,"  besides friendship, are:

A)  A brotherhood loyalty among comedians that apparently rivals that of cops lol.

 

B)  Your own fear of somebody slapping you on stage if you cross the cruelty line.

 

C)  A fear of your own career death, if you defend your former friend Will in the slightest, especially with the very likely looming possibility of Will being stripped of his Oscar, suspended, or expelled from the academy ;)


I understand the necessity - and yet your effort to pull at the heartstrings to get us to join you on just "Team Chris,"  by digging up old podcasts about Chris being bullied as a child, in effort to get us all to empathize JUST with Chris and his childhood - isn't working.

Because here's what you're completely ignoring (willfully?): 


A)  His joke at Jada -  though tamer than his usual -  was  still bordering on bullying/cruel. 

 

B)  He very clearly said, just two years  ago, "Bullying is good for you" on "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. 

 

C)  Will's childhood history, like Chris, also included bullying - PLUS - his recent book described his "freeze" moments with his father's abuse of his mother that he regrets, which I believe played very much into this incident.


I don't know if you think you're dealing with gullible Trump voters or what, whom you imagine you can persuade towards one side, away from what we all heard and saw with our own ears and eyes, by misapplying some key pop-psych and woke punch words -  but it's not going to happen lol -  we're not going to choose between them - sorry.


TBH, it actually may be having the opposite effect - because all this suddenly renewed "St. Chris" talk today, in several different places, is starting to smell a little bit like a behind-the-scenes, orchestrated "Go Team Chris" campaign effort, considering the Oscar jury is still out and being investigated? ;)


I'm half-joking - but I did start to wonder about this possibility, especially while watching The View,  when Sunny Hostin kept pushing Whoopi Goldberg - who is on the Oscar's Governor's Board - to see things her way -  even passing along a further diss of Will by quoting Tony Rock, Chris's brother, as her friend. 

Whoopi listened to her, but Sunny's very transparent, biased campaign on behalf of Chris wasn't lost on her, either, and I highly doubt it will influence her vote on the Oscar's Governor's Board ;)


Regardless, truly mature people are still not taking sides, Ladies - we can still like both men, give empathy to both men (and Jada), and be disappointed in both men, in different ways - despite your not-so-subtle pressure and campaigning for us to pick a side.


Regardless, your abandoning,  two-facededness, and/or betraying your other former BFF, Will Smith, after giving him a standing ovation -  out of some misguided comedian-brotherhood loyalty and/or to save your own hides in Hollywood - hasn't gone unnoticed  ;)

If you really ever were previously his friend,  and you didn't like what he did or are mad at him, then tell him so privately - but running from talk show to talk show, to get attention for your own reaction and distance yourself from him, is almost as characterless and disgusting as you claim he behaved - no wonder he blew after being in Hollywood for too long!


And I'm not sure about your personally feeling "traumatized?"

I was upset, too, but actually traumatized from it? 

No - I wasn't even "triggered" by it, actually, just shocked - and I've been formally diagnosed with PTSD lol.


Ladies, I don't mean to minimize your experience - but at the same time, we really need to be careful about tossing around this term around as lightly as we do - because THAT is a metaphorical slap in the face to those actually on the receiving end of violent trauma.

Because when you're legitimately traumatized - or triggered back into trauma flashback - I guarantee you that the first thing you do will NOT be to run immediately to the talk show circuit and talk about it -  you'd most likely hide and isolate a while, because THAT is the true nature of trauma.

Ask Chris and Will both about that -  whom you will note that no one has seen publicly in days?

In fact, an old trauma trigger may have had something to do with why Will overreacted in the first place -  and if Chris didn't know what legitimately being traumatized felt like before, he certainly does now :(


You keep saying Will made the Oscars about himself -  but it's not about YOU and your "trauma"  from watching it, either.

If you're so mad at Will for overshadowing other Oscars, then why are you still talking about him, 3 days later, instead of those other Oscar winners?

Let's save personal "traumatization" stories for private conversation with your girlfriends, please - don't assume everyone felt the same way you did or are interested in how YOU felt, at the time.

Again, I love you all, but you're getting on my last nerve today lol - because you're dangerously close to sounding like a bunch of overprivileged, gossiping Karens, who've had way too much wine at a hen party at your beach house in Malibu lol.


To the point I rolled my eyes and changed the channel today just to escape any more talk about this crap lol

How about just give it a rest and let the dust settle a while, hmm?

Let's let it go, let the dust settle - okay?


___________________________


PS - I see that Saturday Night Live is going to chime in with their take - which I'm sure will not be heavily weighted towards "Team Chris,"  or anything, since he's a former SNL alum ;)

Just what we need, more comedian cheerleaders, defending a comedian with a history of stooping too low, who has proclaimed "bullying is good for you."

I love you, too, SNL, but I think I'll skip this next episode - sorry.


Nope, still standing firmly on middle ground on this one, I don't care if every comedian in the world becomes Chris's cheerleader, I heard what I heard and saw what I saw, and still think the same way I did from Day One.


But like I've said before, other than Chris's comedian friends, it otherwise has been mostly white people who've been the most outraged - with the most well-known crazy people in Hollywood being the loudest - like Jim Carrey, Rosie O'Donnell, and Kathy Griffin. lol

I mean, the hypocrisy/lack of self-awareness is astounding.

Seriously - you are the last three people in Hollywood that should hop on the "Crucify Crazy Will" bandwagon,  having destroyed your own careers by acting crazy.

Two out of three of you have been accused of physical abuse yourselves, and all three of you have said, done, or drawn scary things that could be construed as threats - and not just once .


Wait, I take that back - the very last three crazy white people who should ever hop on that bandwagon would be Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, and Shia Lebeouf - but to their credit, not a word lol.

Instead, those three are like, "Doh, I'm not saying shit - because I KNOW I'm crazy as hell and have a violent temper that ruined my own career LOL.)



If you think that makes your crazy look better?

It doesn't.

If you think jumping on this bandwagon will revive and restore your career?

It won't.

Sorry.



Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia - The First Diplomatic, Merciful, AND Bad Ass (Unofficial) Queen of England :)










So in preparation for the fifth season of The Last Kingdom, we've been re-watching the first four.

Other than inserting Uhtred the Bold - who was a real person -  into these historic events 100 years before he actually existed (and creating an entirely fictional character/story around him) - the historical accuracy of the events of the original formation of the United Kingdom (within England itself) is supposedly as accurate as we understand them to date.





In this way, the show is much like "The Crown, The Medieval Years," in that it takes actual events and noted quotes and personality documentation and creates a story from them.

One of the most glaringly apparent parallels with our culture today is how much one group hated and feared the other based on region, race, and/or faith - and the same is true today - just swap the names of groups, faith, and color of skin.

Because nowadays, we no longer hate and fear the Vikings - which were three separate "sons" of the same mythology - Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian - or even people from the North or South regions within our own country - we now hate and fear Muslims and people of color.

(*Sigh* - it makes one fear if we will ever grow up.  Some progress has been made, but mostly, we just trade groups to demonize.)


Enter Uhtred, who in the show, was born of Saxon noble birth, but raised by "pagan" Danes (initially a slave, then an adopted Dane son), after a raid on his ancestral land resulted in a deal where Uhtred's uncle sold him into slavery, along with a load of silver, to the Danes, in exchange for keeping his lands and claiming himself the heir.

Thus, Uhtred is forever tested by both Saxons and Danes on both his loyalty to their cultures and their faiths, though he doesn't necessarily believe fully in either (though he has been through both baptism and coming-of-age religious rituals in both cultures), because he feels horrible atrocities are committed on both sides in the name of God or Gods and country, and that there is little difference in the groups overall - that there are pockets of bad people in every country, culture, and faith, as well as good.

However, his main goal is to get his ancestral Saxon lands back - but considering he is also a highly intelligent, skilled warrior, Alfred continues to put carrots in front of his nose to get his land back in exchange for promises to serve him in battle, by putting him in repeated Catch-22 situations (which Uhtred manages to still exert his own will upon anyway, without being a traitor, though he walks a fine line lol).

In reality, although he did battle with his uncle for his ancestral lands, and though he did sometimes side with certain Dane factions based on atrocities committed, moral lines crossed, or principles, the rest is  entirely fiction -  and as mentioned previously, none of the events of King Alfred, his son, King Edward the I, his daughter, Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia, happened in Uhtred's lifetime - they happened a century earlier.


In researching a little bit on the actual history, I was astonished to find that the story about King Alfred's daughter, Aethelflaed, was astonishingly true - she was, for all intents and purposes, the first Queen of England, though tradition prevented her from being called that.


Though supposedly very pretty, delicate and feminine in appearance, nurturing, and educated in the usual tasks of women in the day, she was also educated intellectually alongside men, as well as taught swordsmanship along with men.

This is because her father, Alfred - who by all accounts was an incredibly intelligent, forward-thinking (but somewhat faith-intolerant) man - believed women should be subservient to men - BUT - also believed she should be able to converse knowledgeably with others, as well as protect and defend herself  - because noblewomen and noble daughters were the first thing enemy tribes and kingdoms went after during raids.

Most importantly, without her actions, her father's dream of a united England  may have never have been realized, and England may very well have been now been a part of Scandinavia  :).



Well, at least she shared the kingdom with her brother, King Edward I - but it was her foresight, brilliance, diplomacy-with-close-backup-force that united the tribes of England in a crucial 917 battle that saved England and helped realize her father's dream of a United Kingdom :)


Now - if you read the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which is widely regarded as the most detailed account history of the times - begun by Alfred,  King of Wessex (thus, heavily biased in favor of Wessex-kingdom history)  - she is barely mentioned.  

However, if you read the Mercian Register - which now exists as a sort of addendum to the AS Chronicle - or the Annals of Aethelflaed - Edward is barely mentioned.


This discrepancy is less about a gender (though it is one ingredient), and more about Wessex and Mercia being two separate kingdoms of Saxons, at the time, biased in over-crediting themselves solely for victories (because as we know, history is always told from the perspective of the victors or by their own native-son accounts, regardless of objective accuracy) -  plus add in a dash of sibling rivalry, and Edward's jealousy that his sister, Aethelflaed, was more beloved by the people and better able to negotiate with surrounding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.  

Whereas Edward saw only threats, Aethelflaed, like her father, saw  not only threats, but opportunities :)


Regardless, how did a woman somehow obtain that kind of power, during that time?

Regardless of "lust for power" theories, which although is true in some women, is also true of some men (the same sort of men and women who often project their own lust for power onto all women in  power as in deflection) - the truth is, this happened the way it usually happened historically, of course - through some combination of untimely death of a male ruler and not having a male heir-apparent that was yet of age - in other words, out of necessity :)


At the time, Vikings - a term that can mean three separate sons of Viking "pagan" faith and culture - Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian - wanted more fertile land and more silver, as they didn't have enough to support their people.

Instead of trade, at the time, the Vikings (especially Danes and Norwegians) had a nasty habit of conquering other people in other lands to accomplish this, largely due to their religious/mythological beliefs that death in battle, with a weapon in your hand, was the only way to Valhalla (Viking heaven).


Thankfully, both Scandinavian and English descendants have (mostly) evolved from that "conquering" mentality since then, though we all still need to deal with the remnant rot of colonialism.

Americans and Russians?  

Though, as I said, the remnant rot of our colonialism still exists, we should really pay more attention to how much these countries have evolved since those days - and how much some of our/your leaders - have not.


 Nevertheless, at the time, the many tribes and kingdoms within what is now England - when not battling each other - were under constant attack from the three groups of Vikings, and thus King Alfred of Wessex felt the best way to avoid total Viking conquest was to unite all of the tribal kingdoms of England against them.


He was unable to accomplish this in his lifetime, but what he did do was seal an alliance between Wessex and Mercia by marrying off his daughter, Aethelfled, to Mercia's prince, Aethelred.

(Not the prettiest or most sonorous of names, I agree, and confusing - but it helps if you understand that "Aeth" or "Aethling" in Old English means "noble" or "one of noble birth." )

Thus, his male heir, Edward, would become the future King of Wessex, while his daughter would become the consort of the Aethelred, the King of Mercia.


HOWEVER - King Aethelred became sickly and died with only one heir - a young girl.

Thus, Aetheflaed increasingly resumed his duties out of necessity, and was so well beloved and did such an accomplished job, the Mercian (and Wessex) people began to elevate her title themselves, from "King's Consort" to "Lady of Mercia" (but not Queen, as she could not be officially).


Though I won't take time to list all of the battles against the Vikings that she presided over  - and debatably participated in herself, wielding a sword -   I will mention her most important achievements - which were validated not just by the Mercian Register and the Annals of Aethelflaed, but by Danelaw history.





So - initially, she ceded part of northern Mercia to the Danish Vikings to help their people with food (especially their children, as she supposedly was especially a champion for all children) - in exchange for peace - as an effort to encourage  a system of trade for needed goods rather than war.

This was a significant departure from both her father and brother's attitude towards Vikings, who were completely intolerant of anyone who was not Christian and showed no mercy unless they converted to Christianity.

HOWEVER - although she may have been more tolerant and merciful towards those of differing cultures/beliefs - she was not stupid.

Thus, knowing that conquest and battle is part of Viking religious belief, she knew the peace would not last.

Thus, she used this time during what she knew would be a temporary peace to strengthen forts, the size and training of her military, the number of spies on all sides of the ceded lands to the Danes, and most importantly, created alliances with the varying tribes of England to be called up should the Danes attack again.

Which, of course, they did.

Thus, her final accomplishment in 917 was not only expelling the Dane Vikings out of Mercia completely, but recapturing Derby - one of the five Danish boroughs in England - after the Vikings violated the peace and once again attacked Saxons on Mercian soil.

She accomplished this not only by using the time during her negotiated peace in preparation for further attack, as mentioned above -  but also by successfully negotiating and uniting most of the tribes of England against a common threat, which included not only her brother's kingdom of Wessex, but even the Welsh to join forces (which her brother, Edward, was unable to do, because he kept treating them as inferiors and potential subjects).

In other words, her diplomatic actions resulted in the very first example that her father's dream of a United Kingdom -  where they stopped fighting each other to unite against a common threat -  was a possible reality :)


Like I said in my title, she was diplomatic when she needed to be AND a bad-ass, when she needed to be - out of necessity, not power hunger.

Unfortunately, when she choose her successor and transferred her  power to her only heir, her daughter Aelfwynn, now as "Queen," King Edward I (Aethelflaed's brother) stripped her of this title, saying it did not exist, and claimed Mercia now under his rule as well as Sussex.

We assume he did so under force, but in fact, we don't not know - because apparently, the AS Chronicle doesn't detail how this was accomplished despite Mercian acceptance of Aelfwynn, probably because the way this was accomplished was likely something they'd rather sweep under the rug ;)

Well, that's another way to unite the kingdoms ... I guess?

And yet statues, plaques, and stained-glass windows still exist all  over former Mercian lands, as well as former recaptured Danelaw boroughs throughout England -  to tell the tale of their beloved Lady of Mercia, daughter of King Alfred - (Queen) Aethelflaed :)


Though many tales include her actually fighting on the battlefield, it is unknown whether she actually participated in battles or not or just directed and observed them - but what we do know is that her father did have her trained in swordsmanship to protect herself - and that she was on the battlefield dressed in armor, even if just in observation - because she believed ordering men to their deaths on her command, without her own participation, was cowardly.

Regardless, she is one of the few existing artistic depictions of women holding a sword from that time period - sometimes with her other reassuring, motherly hand on her young nephew's head :)






 







In His Recent Book, "Will," He Said He Froze When His Father Abused His Mother ...




I just remembered that recently, I saw an interview after his book release, where Will Smith said his greatest shame was that he froze when his father beat his mother - and he felt like a selfish coward for doing so.

He also said that he usually gets along with people or makes them laugh to avoid/distract from problems, and that he didn't want to do that anymore.


Thus, I believe that Will's uncharacteristic overreaction was rooted in these childhood events, and what Will Smith meant when he said "Lately, I've felt I need to defend the people I love."

IMO, I believe he was misguidedly trying to undo those freeze moments from his past, Ladies and Gentlemen, trying to change his past by defending the woman he loved at all costs to himself - and that is all.

That doesn't excuse it, of course -  but it puts the incident in perspective and perhaps may quell the "narcissistic madman like Trump" overreactive outrage.


Last night, I started to wonder if something was wrong with me, if there was something I couldn't see, perhaps because of my own dysfunctional upbringing,  because even though I felt the Oscars, a childhood escape for me  - which as already hanging by a thread -  were ruined by this event, I just didn't feel quite as self-righteously outraged like so many of my fellow liberals -  especially not just at Will. 

I mean, people are acting like Will's behavior was completely in a vacuum, like Chris Rock didn't joke about his wife's medical condition, and as if was some kind of innocent saint just minding his own business, calling him a "gentle soul"  a "gentleman," "professional" and a "class act - when again, Chris Rock is a lot of things, both positive and negative, but he is definitely NOT a gentleman, a class act, professional,  or a gentle soul lol.

Then making huge leaps in logic, like Will must beat Jada, too, if he hit Chris Rock, a narcissistic madman, the same as Trump and kinds of other absurd leaps-in-logic accusations that lack any proof whatsoever.

So I re-evaluated it to see what I was missing - and after hearing all sides, and considering some valid points I didn't consider  ...

I still think what I originally did - which is that Chris made a joke about Will's wife baldness due to a medical condition - which although fairly tame compared to his usual, still crossed the cruelty line - and Will uncharacteristically overreacted to it with unwarranted violence.

I still think that that both men behaved badly - but not equally - in different ways - and that both should apologize and receive consequences (though Chris Rock perhaps already received his lol) - but that consequence should NOT be stripping Will of his Oscar.


Then I realized something else about the people overreacting to Will's overreaction, and that is that most of them are - white. 

Not sure what that means, but it's true - and all of this overactive white outrage sure smells an awful lot like white-fragility Karen-ness to me, both male and female Karens...








Monday, March 28, 2022

Howard Stern, Rosie O'Donnell and Others Comparing Will Smith to Trump? LOL

 

I left this comment (or a shorter variation) on sites elsewhere, after reading Howard Stern yammer on and on.


I disagree, Howard - nobody acted like Trump lol. Even if we HAD to choose between Chris Rock and Will Smith for who acted the most like Trump - which we don't - I'm pretty sure Chris Rock would win for making fun of someone's medical condition for a cheap-shot laugh that wasn't even funny, much like Trump made fun of that disabled reporter - but even that's a stretch. Also, we do not have to take sides between Chris and Will - they both behaved badly - but not equally badly - in different ways. As for the Jason Momoa argument, by that logic, you could just as easily say that Chris likely would've never made a cruel joke about Lisa Bonet to Jason Momoa, for the same reasons lol. My fellow liberals, we all claim to not condone violence, but you know dang well that if Trump had made that cruel joke, instead of Chris, you'd be cheering Will on lol - and that we've cancel-cultured others for less cruelty than Chris displayed. Do we want a culture of kindness or not? Howard, darling - erm - may we remind you that you helped build Trump City, my friend, then regretted it? So I'm not sure we can trust your judgment on mental health ;) Besides, most of the people saying this stuff are comedians, who are now terrified that someone will come up on stage and slap THEM now lol. . Good - let them, and anyone else who hides behind "freedom of speech," now fear of the social consequences of crossing the cruelty line. Maybe they'll think twice before doing so, from now on ;)


As an afterthought, though, I highly doubt Jason Momoa would ever say such a cruel thing, about anybody.


Howard also called Chris Rock a "gentle soul."

LOL - oh, he was serious. 

Erm - Chris Rock is a lot of things, both positive and negative, but a gentle soul ain't one of them lol.

Remember, he's the comedian that said, "Bullying is good for you."


Really disappointed in the increasing number of people jumping on the bandwagon and now taking sides against just Will, as if Chris Rock was completely innocent - as if we need to take sides.


So do we really want a culture of kindness or not, fellow liberals?

And do we believe all freedom of speech should be protected from even social consequences - or not?

Lastly, do we believe there's never an excuse for violence - or not?

Better think about this one carefully, fellow liberals, about what message we really want to send, here - because this one's not so black-and-white simple to sort out.


As I write this, news came over the wire that Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock.






Make of it what you will (no pun intended), but regardless, I'm gonna let this go now - other than to say, careful of the message we send, fellow liberals -  this one isn't so easy to sort out and pick a side on - and we don't have to pick a side on.

Let's make sure whatever message we send out is who we really want to be, too.





"He Got In One Little Fight, And We All Got Scared" - All Right, Let's All Settle Down, People - Geez


(*Edited - content added.)

Look - no one is more disappointed in Will Smith and what the Oscars has become than me, as I menti
on in the post below, what the Oscars meant to me as a child.

And again, I do not condone violence under any circumstances.

HOWEVER - those of you trynna act like you would've handled things better?

Now, you know if Chris publicly humiliated a member of your family like that, most of you would've ...

A)   Soiled yourselves and then run crying for your momma,  never to be seen or heard from again  (Or maybe that's just me - Lord knows that's likely what I would've done lol)

B)   Cussed him out, loud and proud, right there in front of God and everybody.. 
C)  Sued Chris for defamation of character.

D)  Laughed along with Chris publicly, but then privately tried to have him blacklisted from Hollywood and ruin his career, behind his back.

E)  Engaged in a nasty ongoing Twitter battle.

R)  Punched him and/or any person that ever said or wrote the slightest nasty thing, and not even to your face, but online

... the first time it happened - let alone the second, or even more, after a lifetime of having to grin and bear it - and just 30 minutes before you were the frontrunner to receive the pinnacle, crowning-achievement award of your career.


Will just had enough and he blew - both the language and the violence were extremely unusual for him - it was a build-up, a poor moment for Will that happened to be caught on camera -  period.

Interestingly, I forgot this, until just a few minutes ago, when my husband reminded me -  I literally had just said to him 2 hours before the Oscars ... 

"Who doesn't love Will Smith? Everyone loves Will, he's supposedly the nicest guy in Hollywood - but as good-natured as he is, sometimes I wonder if he fakes it to make it - you can sometimes see it in his eyes that he's not always laughing along - you can't always laugh along, in toxic Hollywood - unless you're a sociopath lol."

Boy, I had no idea how much I hit THAT nail on the head  lol.

See, this is why it's not good to always stuff it down, bottle it up, and wait until you blow - because the volcano will most certainly erupt and come out sideways, whether verbally or physically, at the worst possible time, when stress and emotions are high - and then you look like an overreacting crazy person, because people won't know it's after years of some sh*t (yes, I speak from experience lol ;)

I wish to God he hadn't resorted to violence, especially at the Oscars - but he did :(

But we are talking about one single errant, uncharacteristic snapshot moment of his life.


No - it does NOT mean he's a "narcissistic madman" or "displaying toxic masculinity" or any of the other BS that people are saying now, though until that moment, everyone used to say he was the nicest person in Hollywood, running a tie or close second with Tom Hanks.


It means he's human - he overreacted to an cruel joke, when tensions were high, in a historically male way versus a historically female way - period.

Rosie O'Donnell - I'm talking to you - comparing him to Trump -  are you serious with that?






Oh, get outta here with that melodramatic pot-stirring nonsense lol.

NOBODY acted like Trump -  but if we HAD to choose between Chris and Will for who acted the most like Trump, I'm pretty sure Chris would win, for making fun of someone with a medical condition, like Trump made fun of that a disabled reporter - but even THAT comparison is stretching it!

Listen, Roseanne - erm, I mean Rosie - believe me when I say that NOBODY wants to handle ANYTHING the way that YOU do.

(There's a reason why SNL didn't take you up on your offer to play Steve Bannon and didn't want you on the show, and I recommend you figure out what the reason is ;)

AND - though I don't condone violence - if THAT's your definition of "narcissism" and "toxic masculinity" - instead of (overreactive) proof that chivalry is NOT dead?

Then where can I direct some men I know to sign up? :)


Yes -  I wish he'd taken Chris aside later and spoke to him about it, off camera.

At most, I wish he'd have later just verbally clapped back at Chris during his speech.

Or better yet, spoken about his wife's struggle with the condition.



Or best of all, I wish he'd just risen above it, saying nothing at all - letting the Oscar in his hand speak for itself - an award that Chris Rock - nor will any of you -  nor will I - ever receive on his/your/my best day.


But unfortunately, for whatever reason, he didn't - and neither would most of you stone-throwers - who would've instead chosen one of the 6 options I mentioned above ;)

Rest assured, he's going to pay for it somehow, while Chris Rock walks away like some kind of innocent victim, with at most, a stinging face.

Chris Rock is certainly NOT innocent, nor a "professionally behaved gentleman," nor "a class act," or any of the other things people are calling him right now.

Though roasting is not uncommon at the Oscars, there was plenty of other material, based on people's actual choices VS using the humiliating, unchosen medical condition of the wife of a Best-Actor Oscar nominee for a cheap-shot laugh :(


But ya know, we don't HAVE to pick sides here.

I'm not saying their behavior was equivalent, but I still DO think both men could take some responsibility and give an apology for their bad behavior in different ways, yes?


And to those making this about their race - which I predicted/feared would happen last night ...


Sean Penn
and Alec Baldwin have done things like this - repeatedly - just not at the actual Oscars - and yet people keep hiring them and giving them awards - no one ever once mentioning their race!

You're even worse to me - making this incident about their race only reveals how much more of a disgusting, dark-souled human being YOU are -  more than those two ever even thought of being!

Once again, have fun storming the Capitol and attacking Capitol Police -  ya buncha gun-toting,  flag-weaponizing, violent, racist hypocrites! xo

__________________________________________



PS - I made this joke privately, this morning, but decided not to share it publicly at first, considering it had just happened and being the butt of jokes was a sensitive subject -  but I can see somebody else just made that same joke elsewhere, so I'll say it now, to lighten things up - hoping even Will himself - who normally has a great sense of humor - would even laugh at this one.

So does Will have to move in with his Auntie and Uncle in Bel Air again?

;) 

For those who don't get it, sing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air song ...


"In West Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground was where I spent most of my days
Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin', all cool 
And all shootin' some b-ball outside of the school 
When a couple of guys who were up to no good
Started making trouble in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight and my mom got scared
She said, "You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air"

LOL!


Look, I'm up for a good joke as much as the next person, but there's a cruelty line that shouldn't be crossed - which among other things, includes medical conditions that people literally cannot help or cannot be fixed,  or things that could be construed  false accusations, hatred or threats, etc. 






So Kathy Griffin - who you may remember her now infamous , unfunny, disgusting, "beheaded Trump" gig - was one of the first people to tweet out "Now we comedians have to worry about someone walking up on stage and slapping us."


Aw, poor you, Kathy.

Look, I wish Trump would just fall off the face of the earth, too  - but that beheaded Trump stunt you pulled was disgusting, completely amoral, OTT, and just plain scary - not to mention wasn't even remotely funny.

So you know what, Princess?

Good - I'm GLAD you now worry about that now .

It's called facing the social consequences for the freedom of speech that others fought and paid with their lives for, though you and so many others like you, did not - but nevertheless legally hide behind, as well as computer screens,  like cowards.

Maybe y'all will think twice before you do, from now on.





PPS - Will Smith/Chris Rock - And Yet, I Still Have Mixed Feelings - and BOTH Men Need to Apologize ...



There's talk of Will having his Oscar taken away now.

I do forgive Will Smith - this was reportedly so out of character for him, and at some point, you get tired of smiling and letting things roll off your back, while living in the fishbowl - BUT - actions do have consequences.

Then again, there should also be consequences to someone abusing their freedom of speech to publicly humiliate your wife - for a medical condition she cannot control -  in front of the entire world!

Clearly, I have mixed feelings about this - I can't stop thinking about it, what it means, what should be done.

Part of me feels proud that there are still chivalrous famous men who defend their wives (especially over a medical condition she has no control over) - whose love for others is greater than their love of themselves and their own fame -  to the degree that they're willing to sacrifice their own career and reputation for it.

And yet at the same time, the other part of me doesn't condone violence under any circumstances, especially at an event that is one of our most important cultural institutions.



Regardless, I can't help but find myself still feeling like the Oscars is now ruined :/

It was already on its last legs, but now, I fear it is dead.


To be honest with you, I think BOTH men should apologize - Will for slapping Chris, and Chris for taking such a low blow at Will's wife for an autoimmune condition she cannot control.

This is yet of further evidence of "freedom of "speech" is turning into a culture of meanness without consequence - and at some point, our words will have social consequences, if not legal ones.

(Later added - I am NOT saying their behavior is equivalent. I'm saying they both participated and behaved badly in different ways. I'm saying it's not like Chris Rock was standing there innocently minding his business, he joked about the physical manifestation of Will's wife medical condition that cannot be controlled, which already humiliates her.)


For me personally, this incident has hit me like a punch.

Because though I rarely watch the full thing anymore, the Oscars was my escape as a child.

In fact, it saved me as a creative, shy, weird kid growing up in an abusive, dysfunctional family - which, by the way, was all white.

It was an escape from all that violence and meanness in my home, and in the real world itself - and now it's not - does that make sense?

I know this is stupid, but in a world of chaos, as a child, the Oscars was like Spring itself - you could count on it regularly.


Of course I will forgive both of them, if they both apologize - but I wonder if the Oscars will ever be the same again - so I would like each of those men to think about how their actions may have helped give our culture of meanness and violence yet a further push past the point of no return :(


EXCEPT - if we find out the whole thing was staged -  which although I doubt, I still question, considering what Will Packer said on the red carpet beforehand (see two posts below) - and then in that case, all three men should be banned from Hollywood, I'm sorry.















Sunday, March 27, 2022

PS - Will Smith Nevertheless Won Best Actor - And Of Course We''ll Forgive You - But Still Processing ...

 

Despite that shocking moment, Will began the speech by talking about the character he played, Richard Williams (father of Venus and Serena) - also being a fierce defender of family -  and ended up delivering one of the most genuine, best speeches I have ever heard at the Oscars.

He then told the story about fellow nominee and friend, Denzel Washington, warning him, "At your highest moment, be careful - that's when the devil comes for ya - and he was right."

(I took this to mean temptation came to him, not that Chris Rock is the devil lol.)

Then he began to talk about his intention to be an ambassador of love and lifting others up, and how he knows that he should be able to take the abuse, people talking crazy, and then he began cry, as he delivered his speech, apologizing to the academy, his fellow nominees, and the audience for slapping Chris  - but NOT to Chris. 

I'm not sure he needs to.  I don't condone violence - BUT - Chris crossed the line, humiliating his wife for an autoimmune disorder that causes you to lose your hair, when women already struggle with being seen in public with this disorder :(  

He ended joking about himself looking like the crazy father he played and said, "Love makes you do crazy things."



You can't help but still love Will and forgive him - this was a poor, uncharacteristic moment for him, folks, truly - my brother-in-law, a senior accountant for a major motion picture network, swears Will is literally the nicest, most laid-back person in Hollywood. 


Will Smith  IS a light, he IS an ambassador of love - but also a fierce defender of his family - he is human - just like the rest of us.


You haven't failed, Will - this was nothing more than a humbling reminder  that you're still human, that's all   - but God is still with you - because that speech, remarkably turning this bad situation around for good, was divinely inspired :)


PS - I initially questioned if this was staged, considering what Will Packer said on the red carpet beforehand (read post below).

But in the end, I don't think it was, Will's speech was too off-the-cuff and too genuine, IMO.

Plus Will is too smart to stage something like that at the Oscars,  it could potentially ruin his career.  At least I hope he wouldn't stage it :/







OMG - Will Smith and Chris Rock - Was That Staged?!?


 Will Smith just slapped the  sh*t out of Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars.

Because?

Chris Rock joked about Will's wife's shaved head, telling her he "couldn't wait until GI Jane 2,"  referring to her shaved head - either not realizing or not caring that Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, has alopecia -  an autoimmune disorder, which causes you to lose your hair!  :(



Then Will yelled up to the stage "Keep my wife's name out of your f-cking mouth."

Will Smith - who is up for best actor - seemed extraordinarily pissed - but was it more acting?


Because here's the thing - earlier, Oscar Producer, Will Packer, forewarned on the red carpet that there would be moments that will "confuse you ... saying, 'Did that just happen?"

To which is production assistant said, "Well, as long as the ratings are up and people are watching, then?"



Ugh - please tell me that was NOT what he was referring to and this was staged.

I know last year the ratings were at an all time low, but my God, just when you thought the Oscars couldn't be demeaned any further - is this what our society has been reduced to, a culture of meanness as a form of entertainment?

OMG, I can just hear the racists now - not knowing this is so out of character for Will - Will Smith is seriously known as one of the nicest, most laid-back people in Hollywood - and he doesn't like to cuss, in his rap OR in his roles on screen, because he promised his grandmother he wouldn't - so this is doubly weird for him.

And what if he wins best actor tonight?

This is a disaster, an absolute disaster, on so many levels.

Chris Rock can be funny, but he can also be extraordinarily mean, in recent years.  

I'm not saying he deserved a physical altercation, but the man made fun of his wife's autoimmune disorder and hair loss, he literally humiliated her in front of the entire world - for something she already feels embarrassed about and can't control!

Seriously, this culture of meanness needs to stop ... 











Friday, March 25, 2022

No - Federal Judges, Regardless of Political Side, Are Not "Protecting" Child Sex Offenders - But Our U.S. Constitution Does ...

 

(*Important PS added)


... in that it gives very detailed instructions regarding the rights of both suspected and convicted criminals, of a sexual nature or not, including their right to due process of law vs. vigilante justice, a fair trial, and avoidance of cruel and unusual punishment (8th amendment).


All judges must abide, first and foremost, to these explicit laws found in our U.S. constitution to protect the rights of criminals, as well as protect the rights of their victims - whether they like it or not, agree with it or not, or think the offender deserves it or not.


And if we don't like it, then we take it up with our current SCOTUS regarding our constitution and/or our federal or state congress to write new laws - not KBJ, or any federal judge - because they don't make the laws, they just interpret and follow them.

Because despite what Republican press and pundits have twisted (who likely didn't read the entire lengthy paper, didn't understand it, or intentionally cherry-picked it), KBJ actually agrees with us - in both her Harvard Law Review paper/article and her statements during her SCOTUS hearings.  

In fact, she's repeatedly complained about the need for a reassessment and update of both the language and guideline laws regarding sentencing of sex-crime criminals to be more specific, especially in an internet age.

(More on this added in a P.S. to my original post on this subject.)

AND - she's not the only one. 



Federal judges - on BOTH sides of the political fence - have repeatedly complained about this and requested this reassessment.

____________________


PS - I'd just like to add a bit from a personal disgust perspective here, and I'll make this brief, and then we'll move on.

So I began writing my original KJB post on Thursday evening and posted it before we took Brookie into the vet yesterday morning, right?

After I wrote it, I read several press and pundit "articles" and posts on the subject yesterday, to find out just how many were passing along Hawley's debunked claims and false accusations about KBJ.

It was the usual suspects, both local and national.  

Even one pundit from the UK - but as usual, he didn't post on the subject at all until after I did - but of course, from the other  political perspective, spreading the lies ;)


I'd just like to say that I hope there is a special place in hell, not only for pedophiles -  but for the sort of people who would falsely accuse others of  pedophilia or "protecting pedophiles" without proof - their sole motivation being just because they disagree with them politically and want to win elections and gain power.

Even worse, in my opinion, is that I happen to know for a fact that one of those age 60+ political bloggers himself secretly got into legal trouble for posting pictures of underage girls on his blog, with the girls' parents, as they were posted without the girls or their parents' permission.

However - he lied to his unknowing readers that these lawsuits were filed by "feminists" who were "attacking" him because they didn't like his "ogling women."


Erm - they weren't "women" - they were underage girls - and the lawsuits weren't filed by "feminists" - they were filed by the parents of the underage girls whose photos he snatched off of their social media pages without permission.

Unfortunately, though tied up legally for years, he was ultimately able to slither out of it - as a result of same legal protections for criminals he's currently putting on a show to condemn  -  as well as due to the lack of legal precedent when it comes to internet law :/

Is there anything more hypocritical and disgusting than a pedophile - who himself took advantage of and benefitted from the same legal-system loophole protections and lack of internet precedent law offered for criminals like himself  - now condemning these laws out of pure projection of his own behavior onto others, just because they disagree with him politically?

I don't think so.

Otherwise, let's not pay him, and his "freedom of speech" any more attention, and though he may have temporarily escaped justice due to the same  legal protections for pedophiles he's now condemning -  he's actually only compounding his sins before the same Christ we both claim to serve ;)

In fact, I'm so disgusted by the depths of darkness to which this person will stoop over politics (and get away with) that I'm gonna break for the light for the weekend - see ya soon! :)