Hyper-critical
Lately I've been mulling over how incredibly critical conservative talk radio show hosts, whom I refer to as Clear Channel Employees, have been over the MEDIA attention given to Michael Jackson's death and funeral. Some have criticized the adulation M.J. has received because of the accusations of pedophilia, and his "Weird" behavior -- which includes his skin color changing over the years, excessive plastic surgeries, and holding his children over a ledge as Paparazzi took pictures.
As I continued listening, I noticed a similar pattern of criticism applied to other issues of the day, such as the Honduran crisis, Obama's dealings with Russia, Cap and Trade, and Healthcare reform. It's one thing to reasonably argue a point; it's quite another to play devil's advocate for the right. That gets old to the listener.
To be fair, this week has been filled with fill-in hosts who clearly are doing a poor-man's Rush Limbaugh impersonation. However, even Michael Savage got into the act this week -- claiming M.J. was not a great artist. It seems to me, given that Savage is a fan of Metallica and Ramstein, that he has a metal fan's distaste for Jackson's brand of pop music. However, for Savage to lionize Jimmy Hendrix and diss M.J. just didn't make much sense, considering they both had drug problems.
It's all a matter of perception and perspective. Savage ranted about how he had never heard M.J. in the 1980's ... meanwhile, people like me were inundated with his music, like it or not. For us, his death was another reminder of our mortality, as well as an opportunity to remember our younger days. Like it or not, his music was part of the soundtrack of those days.
There's something else about M.J. (focus on M.J. -- people can't find Honduras on the map, even if they search it ... and why(tm)? weren't the Clear Channel Employees on the geopolitical issues of the day? If I were a CC Employee, I would have paid homage to M.J. the day of his death and then talked about truly pressing issues going forward) -- to me, there is evidence that M.J., while naive and "Weird," did not commit any crimes. Also, he has many great character witnesses, like Nelson Mandela, to vouch for him.
I mean, aren't parents accountable for letting their children go over to M.J.'s house? What if some of these parents wanted to cash in on M.J.'s childlike "Weirdness"?
Oh, and speaking of Nelson Mandela -- why have Clear Channel Employees mocked this guy in the past? The guy is revered, and rightfully so, after suffering in prison for years in South Africa. Why would Clear Channel Employees want to straddle the fence of Apartheid and take shots at this guy? No wonder some people I've known over the years call Rush a racist.
The coup de gras for me on this topic was a link to an article Damian sent me, written by Christopher J. Priest. He described the office politics of the Marvel Comics Bullpen back in the 1980's -- it sounded so real and relatable. I had experienced similar things at Tashman Technologies as a young manager -- caught between executives and employees; struggling to make the workers lives easier; getting backstabbed by said workers; getting backstabbed by execs who didn't care for my efforts. I saw where he was coming from.
I've learned from Damian over the years that you can't take someone at face value ... so, after my initial reaction, I decided to see what else Priest had written. I happened upon a review he had written of the new Star Trek movie which was so incredibly critical that I coined a new term -- hyper-critical (with apologies to Mark Waid for using the word "Hyper" as prefix) for his take on Zachary Quinto and the use of Romulans. I wondered if, back in his Marvel days, Priest employed a cruder version of this verbal surgical strike ... and then I wondered why he bothered writing an article describing his days at Marvel, in which he attempted to APOLOGIZE for his actions.
I wrote off Priest at that point, and jokingly emailed this to Damian. Damian pointed out that his Marvel story rang true -- too true to be ignored. I agreed, and coined the title of this chapter.
I know Damian gets where I'm coming from ... he knows when I'm joking and when I'm serious. The connection I have with Damian is a rare thing. A good friend is something to be treasured.
I suspect friends of Priest also get it, from where he's coming from. Since I am not privy to such connections, I can only muse as an outsider.
Just as people who don't know me can only guess as to what I really mean with the parodies and opinion pieces I've written for the DailySkew.
This all brings be around to a parody I wrote a few years back -- "Man announces he is devoid of opinion." In the hopes of explaining the joke and enlightening long-time readers, allow me to quote from the faux-news article now:
"That's right. I've given up having an opinion about anything," stated Randall Thorak, a native Floridian. "I've had enough with the divisiveness opinions cause.".
I feel this way a lot, about the divisiveness. Anyway, let's read more:
"I know it may sound extreme, but it's the path I'm on ... its better to have a friend than have an opinion," he summarized.
Yep. So, how do you, let's say, talk movies while not having an opinion? Let's see Mr. Thorak's answer:
"Look, I'm easily entertained. If you give me a couple of good fight scenes, or dazzling special effects, I'm okay. I'll just go with the flow, and keep my mouth shut ... of course, if I ever see a movie as bad as Judge Dredd, I will say something about that."
I just HAD to express an opinion during an article about not having opinions. Truly sick! Demented.
SKEWED.
In real life (as if parody articles aren't real to those who don't know me), I express myself and listen to what others have to say. I try not to get into arguments about subjective matters ... but I am, after all, only human.
At the end of the parody, the great Dr. Richard Hoffman of the Animalgram Institute agreed:
"I think if you're devoid of opinion, it probably means you're also devoid of life. Living humans are, by design, opinionated."
I couldn't agree more.
