Stupid on Many Levels

Originally posted on 04/03/06

Okay, so I just read an article about some problems people have been having with this movie that just came out called "ATL". Apparently it is a movie about drug trafficking in Atlanta or something. I could care less about the movie but it would take some serious effort on my part and quite frankly I'm just too goddamn lazy to put in that kind of time.

Anyway, I haven't seen this movie so I'll have no comments on its contents or it's worthiness as a contribution to American cinema, not my point. The point I want to bring up is the stupidity of humans in general and humans in groups all together. I have long held the theory that if you gather more than three humans in a group, chances are better than average that two or more of those people are either nuts and/or stupid. And the evidence just keeps on coming. In this case in Toledo, OH a fight broke out in a mall theater after a showing of the film. Reading the article two forms of stupidity were immediately clear. First, The people who decided it would be a good idea to start punching the guy next to them because he didn't happen to enjoy the movie as much as he really should have. Ladies and gentlemen, this is why we don't have a city on the moon and cancer is still not cured. If it is your heartfelt belief that this is the proper way to express a differing opinion, please report to the nearest suicide booth an remove yourself from the gene pool. Hey, I'll give you the quarter.

While this is bad enough the media makes the whole thing worse by printing this little gem: "The movie may also be responsible for the death of 17-year old in Chicago early Saturday morning."

What?!? At what point did strips of celluloid become fully autonomous homicidal killing machines? I seemed to have missed that memo because unless the movie jumped down off the screen, picked up a gun and shot the kid in the head I'd have to say that this one is a little far fetched.

If I watch a movie, read a book or view a program that upsets me And I go out and beat ninety-two and a half people to death with a flaming spiked dildo, guess whose fault that would be. Go ahead and guess. I'll wait....... Ok, those of you who answered the dildo manufacturer go to the back of the line. In both cases the responsibility lies not with the stimulus (i.e. film, book, whatever) but with how we act upon that stimulus. The choice to pick up that gun or flaming spiked dildo and do harm to another being is entirely our own. This is just another shovel full of dirt on the shallow and urine-soaked grave of personal responsibility.

For whatever reason be it random chance or some deity's slow afternoon, we were all given a mind and the ability to use it. Sadly the desire to use said mind seems to have been overlooked in about eighty to ninety-five percent of the world population. We all think of ourselves as intelligent human beings, how about we try and start proving it. I know we can be better than this.

In case you are interested in reading the article that pissed all over my cheerios you can find it at: http://www.nbc24.com/Global/story.asp?S=4714025

Rant over......for now.