Today I want to talk about the TV hero syndrome –
which has very nicely and effectively been created and perpetuated by good ol’ Hollywood and its
puppetmasters. We Americans, since we
are born, are told that we must “Kick ass”, and other such macho horseshit. We watch Dirty Harry, Chuck Norris, Superman,
and other such “heroes” display bravery that is beyond anything human. I’ve been in this life for a few decades, and
I’ve been all over the world. I would
like to know who, if any of you, has met any such hero in their personal life –
I know I haven’t. Have you personally
met any person who deals with situations the way Chuck did in his movies, or in
Walker Texas Ranger? How many Dirty
Harrys have you seen with your own eyes?
Of course, Superman is just a comic book character, but he is in the
minds and hearts of millions of little American boys – many of whom have never
grown up. Ya know what else is real
funny – all the “miracles” in religion – they all happened thousands of years
ago, and in faraway lands – pretty much in the same places as all the heroes
that we read about, that we hear about, and who we watch on TV. I wonder how many times Chuck Norris, or
Clint Eastwood, or Charles Bronson, or any of ‘em – ever belted anybody in real
life – my guess is none. Yes, Chuck
competed in Karate competitions – in carefully controlled situations, where
there is no danger of being shot at, clubbed, tazered; or thrown in prison
after some lowlife speed dials his lawyer.
We hear about war heroes – who stood in the face of loaded guns and
flying bullets – never flinching, never blinking – same – we read and hear
about them, and we watch their scripted lives on TV and the big screen, but
have you ever seen any such person in action – with your own eyes? My guess is no, you haven’t. Dirty Harry was a cop, right? Do you know, by seeing with your own eyes, a
single cop who is not a bully, and a flaming coward, and who does anything other than harass
innocent, UNARMED citizens – much less handle a situation with such flawless poise
and grace as Dirty Harry, or Walker, Texas Ranger? I can’t name you a single one. I was a resident manager of an apartment
building back in the late 70s. There
were a few times when I had to call the cops to come and deal with a “Domestic
Disturbance” – usually after 10 pm is when these would happen. There wasn’t a single time when they took
less than TWO HOURS to arrive, by which time I had to go up and handle it
myself. Lucky for me I was too naïve to
know what the hell I was getting into, because if I did, I probably wouldn’t
have done it. There were also a couple
of times when they (Honolulu’s Finest) didn’t show up at all.
I go out in public at least three times a week, I must
get in my car and drive on public roads, and go into public places of business. Very seldom am I able to accomplish this
without seeing, or being on the receiving end of some piece of dirt, almost
always in a full size pickup, who tailgates everything in his path, speeds
around, and generally acts like a flaming dumbass every inch of the way. This crap seems to have fairly recently spilled
over into the grocery store – where more often than not, I watch people huff
and puff while they’re in the checkout line – angry as hell because people are
in front of them. I never hear them
actually say anything, it’s just a lot of rolling eyes and huffing and puffing.
Now, the worst part.
As the years go by, the laws become more and more apparent – that they
are on the side of the bully – they protect the bug eyed full size pickup
drivers who tailgate and speed around, they protect any smartass who might
taunt somebody into “violence”. They
protect the punks who rape and murder their girlfriends, wives, or perfect
strangers. These days there are video “surveillance”
cameras every five feet, so, if you decide to pull some smartass out of his
vehicle, if you’re lucky enough to find one of ‘em who doesn’t come out of his ½
ton pickup with a gun pointed in your face, and you smack him around, you
better be damn careful that you’re not caught on Candid Camera. I’ve seen, with my own eyes, first rate
murderers get caught, arrested, convicted, and sent to prison for 4 or 5
years. Meanwhile, there have been many
times when a person who had the audacity to defend his own honor, defend his
physical safety, not to mention the abused wives, who have spent no less than 5
years, and up to 25 years in prison – all for defending themselves against
endless beatings and threats. I was told
that Oregon’s “Measure 11” does not apply to a simple fight in the street – but bullshit,
it has been used as revenge from “Law Enforcement” for “Taking the law into
your own hands”. Let me tell you from
first hand experience that cops, lawyers, and judges HATE it when a person
defends him or herself, and they will punish you to the fullest extent for doing so. My guess is that
it’s an ego thing, and a good ol’ boy thing.
I don’t know how it’s possible
that a guy who rapes, tortures, and kills an innocent girl (with the help of
his two other punk friends) can get a four and a half year prison sentence,
while an obviously abused wife, who on numerous occasions, was beaten, and on a
couple of occasions, beaten within inches of her life, then kills the cowardly
piece of shit in self defense – can end up in prison for TWENTY FIVE YEARS! These are but only two of the many atrocities
I’ve witnessed in our disgustingly crooked courtrooms.
So, to my original points, first, there are two main
reasons why we innocent citizens cannot handle our daily situations the way our
TV heroes do onscreen. One, it’s a pretty
sure thing that these lowlifes who go around bullying people on the roads are
not doing it unarmed. Second, none of us
want to spend time in prison because some yellow bellied, goatee wearing,
shades on the head, baseball cap covered punk, doesn’t know how to behave in
public. Third, Watching Chuck, Clint, and whoever
else, flawlessly kick the badguys’ asses, sets us up for some horrible self
image distortions, and again, I have yet to meet a person who even distantly
resembles any of these TV heroes. Of all
the stories I see on TV, including news, and so called “Documentaries”, I
believe very little, if any of it. To
me, the heroes are the ones who personally help hungry people, who personally
and realistically do something for poor people.
If somebody does occasionally beat the dogshit out of a badguy, or does actually risk his life for another person or cause, then
great, and it does happen once in a while, but all the hero bullshit you see on
TV, don’t believe it, or you’ll be in for a lifetime of self loathing and frustration.
I believe that this is the reason why there are so many
mass shootings these days. This country
is so full of frustrated people, that it’s only a matter of time before the
next one snaps and goes on a shooting rampage.
Not to worry, it ain’t gonna be me, I will never hurt an innocent
person, but somebody will.
It goes a lot deeper than this, but this is a blog, not a
book, so I’ll stop here for now.
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