Ok, this is an interesting turn of events...

But first, a completely honest disclosure:

I went to a prominent engineering school, where there were jocks and fratboys in abundance. Said jocks and fratboys overwhelmingly came from well-to-do white families, and very many of them carried that particularly obnoxious posture of superiority and entitlement. Of that bunch, quite a few were wantonly cruel. So, as a lower-middle class hispanic male, who was also nerdy awkward and gay (at the time) I bristled at the sight of these guys. Inasmuch as I was fortunate to not have had the snot beat out of me, the "contempt-stare" made me very uncomfortable, and their behavior repulsed me. The fact that so many were middling students, but came from privelege rankled me even further, especially as I realized that they probably would do very well in life without having to work very hard. Kinda like Mr. You-know-who, current occupant of 1600 PA Ave.

So do I have a bias? You betcha. So hang me.

Anyway- all that being said, I sincerely believe that it was a goddamn shame that these young men found themselves caught in the grinding gears of our less-than-perfect criminal justice system- and after all the pain and humiliation faced by them and their families, find out that the charges against them were found to have no merit.

I could speculate all I want about how they *probably* were behaving, what their attitudes *probably* were, etc, but since I don't know them, such speculation would be worthless, and nothing more than me airing my prejudices.

The reason why I am even bothering to comment is, because today I heard one of the accused admit that during his ordeal, he came to the realization that in this country, there really are innocent people who have been falsely arrested, accused, and convicted (or something to that effect). That's a pretty significant admission for a callow young white man of priveledge to make. I was surprised, and a little bit impressed.

Naturally, any person of color learns this at an early age, and reminds me of the old adage about liberals being former conservatives who have been falsely arrested.

Just the same, perhaps something good can come from this. As an assumed (by me) member of the Priveledged Elite class of this country, that person can do a great deal of good if he not only repeats his impressively astute comment loudly and frequently, but also makes it his life's mission to advocate for the falsely-accused. It's a shame, but it's the truth, that Americans will pay more attention to him than a person of color from the lower rungs of the social ladder.

May these young men learn compassion from their ordeal, and may they not turn to bitterness, instead. So much good can come of such a terrible situation. Let's hope they have grown enough to actually make it happen.

Hey, a guy can hope, can't he?

Every once in a while, I win one!

"The act of "arguing" is an act of assertion. The assertion in itself becomes refutation...

Does this remind anyone else of Python's brilliant "Argument Sketch?"

LOL

On another note, m.b.f. wrote,

"...That's why the hate follows from movement conservative worldview: when you believe that truth is ideologically determined, then the only way to get your "truth" on top is to supress the "truth" of "them"..."

The reason why this strikes such a strong and very painful chord for me is that the R.W. nutbars exhibit exactly the same kind of crazy-making behaviors that people who have raging Axis-II personality disorders do.

Take it from me- I was married to a raging borderline for 20 years (what that says about _me_ is an entirely different topic- one worthy of another discussion, in another time and place)

Go look up Personality Disorders. It will explain why you feel like the monster in the old Bugs Bunny cartoon when he finally loses it and goes running through a dozen-or so walls while screaming in horror.

www.bpdcentral.com is a great place to start!

Peace,

-Me

"I'm a marketing professional..."

-'nuff said.

Oy.

I actually viewed this, at the behest of someone who told me that "You really need to see this, my friend saw it and was blown away, etc..."

Well, for her sake, I tried to keep an open mind, but it was hard to endure more than five minutes without laughing out-loud.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most shallow, and yet manipulative pieces of kooky noo-age caca I have ever seen.

I see it this way- if the message is worthwhile, does it really need to be dressed up in all the faux-dramatic tired cliches? The cinematic equivalent of "Empty Barrels make the most noise."

That was the deal-killer for me. I realized that for all it's amateur manipulations, this was still no low-budget production. Somehow, an agency with a truly altruistic bent, or at least, a socially responsible one, would find a better use for all the money paid to their sound designer and forgo a few gratuitous "whooshes" "door slams" and "orchestra hits."

In spite of all this, I still managed to watch it to the end. I concluded that this was just another episode of, "Let's take some gullible losers to the cleaners." Strictly for the "Bet the rent on the Lottery set."

The sad thing is, this crapola is being marketed to the poor suckers who can least afford it, and for whom hope is the only thing they have left. That's just wrong.

I understand that Satan has just approved Donald Trump's plan to add an eighth circle of hell, just for the producers.