Social Distortion

I have a problem with...well, a LOT of things if I'm being completely honest. It's hard not to find fault in the things around us seeing as we live in a considerably imperfect world. But this isn't gonna be a full article from me sounding off about those shorts you're wearing.

FFS, it's a DENIM DIAPER!!!

My gripe is with perceptions. As statements made on the outset of a larger comment go, I know that's pretty damn vague. I am fully aware that I have to explain, so don't worry. I'm definitely going to. First, I'll start with the "thesis," if you can even call it that.

Myths can be among the worst things to happen to culture and society at large.

Settle down. I'm not talking about Hercules, John Henry, Susano'oh or anything like that.

You have no idea who the hell this is.

No, what I'm referring to is the kind of myth that's persisted long enough for the public to actually believe it. Something cultural and/or historical that has been retold with a deliberate spin so as to build a new narrative, viewpoint, or interpretation. You already know what I mean because there are plenty of examples that could perfectly illustrate my point, but I only need one: Shakespeare. You know the name. You're definitely familiar with the (complete) works either by choice or...y'know because you went to school and/or had a pop culture experience at some point in your life. William Shakespeare's presence permeates pretty much every facet of society as we've come to know it. To begin to fully understand that though, we first need to at least consider what he has come to mean to the public now that we're centuries away from the man's death.

Now, this is the part where the theatre misfit in me could lob many a jabs at the perception of Shakespeare's plays. Make no mistake, I'm still gonna do that...kinda. The thing is there genuinely is an err of pretension and elevated importance placed on the the works of "The Bard." However, the truth is his work was the equivalent of a summer blockbuster today. Yeah, William Shakespeare wrote lightweight fodder intended for the masses in a 5-act structure. Does this mean that audiences were smarter back then? Hell no, you idiot! And I'll prove it!

"Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine.
Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes
the desire, but it takes away the performance. There-
fore, much drink may be said to be an equivocator
with lechery: it makes him, and it mars him; it sets him
on, and it takes him off; it persuades him, and dis-
heartens him; makes him stand to, and not stand to; in
conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and, giving him
the lie, leaves him."

That's one of The Porter's lines from The Tragedy of Macbeth. Take a sec' to read that again because that's an Elizabethan passage on the effects of whiskey dick. This doesn't just prove that dick jokes are timeless (and thank God for that or else I'd have to be clever), but it also shows that the humor Billy Shakes used was often crude* or "bawdy" if you feel an uncontrollable urge to stroke your goatee while saying that, you self-satisfied prick!

I can feel your eyes judging me...

But how did this misconstrued elevation of Will's work come to be the common perception? It's not really the language because that makes as much sense as romanticizing 1920's slang. And I say that as someone that genuinely wants "glad rags" to be en vogue again! No, this took hold over the passage of time and gained considerable traction in the American theatre community of the 19th century. The popularity of his plays brought actors from England to the states to perform due to the demand, and with it the mentality that his work was the height of storytelling.

The problem with this isn't the material, but rather the idea of it. With mass entertainment of a forgone era being seen as the highest standard, the core components of basic storytelling have come to be seen as a brass ring that only the exceptional can or should attempt to reach. You've heard this excuse before. "It's not supposed to be Shakespeare." Well, that is now and always was bullshit.

Turns out your movies just suck. Shocking, I know!

This idea stems from the myth that William Shakespeare was somehow a preternatural talent that could never be matched.

He was just a man. A gifted writer, but only a man. The deification and mythologizing of the man and his work has done more harm to narrative storytelling than his other contributions to society can match. And as a result, culture itself takes a hit. I could launch into a treatise about how important media is to the world, but I'll keep things simple since others have done it before and I have a larger point. Just think how much better movies alone would be if basics like character, pacing, natural progression, and motivations were a common expectation as opposed to a rare gift from the committed "genius."

By the way, that's not my larger point...

Yeah. Lured you in.

The thing about myths and deification is that they have a tendency of clouding and distorting the truth of a given matter. Don't believe me? Ask a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans why southern states seceded from the Union.

Assuming you can get him to stop talking about rice for 2 seconds...

Any one of them as well as every other person with "pride in their Southern heritage" will gleefully regale you with a history lesson that no respectable historian has or will ever confirm. They LITERALLY will call Ken Burns a liar on this matter. KEN BURNS!!! The extent of this kind of delusion would be hilari--Okay, it IS hilarious** but it's equally problematic for very obvious reasons. This ignorance, willful or otherwise, lies at the core of and perpetuates a major rift in our communities. So much so that I'm having a hard time figuring out where to begin. Let's start with some basic incontrovertible facts:

• Secession is an act of treason. 
• The secession that led to the Civil War was rooted in the ideology of White Supremacy. 
• The Ku Klux Klan was originally formed in 1865 by Confederate veterans.
• Their first national leader was once a Confederate general.
• I think they'd have a better idea of what that flag represents than you.

So, that there ever was and still is a debate on the matter of the Confederate flag's symbolism is a testament to the poisonous nature of myths and over-glorification. In this case, it's the deification of our ancestors.

The view of race relations in America has broken down over time into a bizarre dichotomy of "bad people" (racists) and "good people" (non-racists) that itself is rooted in a complete misunderstanding of exactly what racism truly is. I will not be explaining that here. My writing this says I have time to kill, but I don't have THAT much. To simplify and save time, it is entirely possible for you to be a good person that is absolutely wrong and misguided. These things are not mutually exclusive. That applies to Confederate soldiers whether they owned slaves or not. Being a racist alone doesn't make you a bad person (although it lends itself really well--it's another form of elitism, and that easily makes you a douche). It does make you completely wrong about the world you live in and the people you share it with. Unwillingness to change that perspective is what makes you an asshole.

Believe me, I know assholes...Wait...

When people hear uncomfortable truths about "the war of northern aggression,"*** what they interpret that as is an attack on good, well-meaning southerners. In other words, they're making the natural mistake that everyone has made in processing a statement as a personal attack. This is not about you or your great-great-grandfather, specifically. The issue was always bigger than that.

As I type these words, news is hitting that the final votes have been cast to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina's Statehouse grounds. I fully expect a cavalcade of ignorant and bigoted responses (some are calling for the removal of the state's African-American monument as a fair trade or retaliation as if they're too stupid to realize that such a stance is itself racist). That's the trouble with fiction that becomes fact. Demystifying this corrupted perception of history takes the kind of honesty that itself has become all too rare. So, here's a handy comparison you can use to highlight the problem with ignoring facts to elevate and honor those who fought for a dishonorable cause:

"By the time the north will have attained the power, the black race will be in a large majority, and we will have black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything. Is it to be supposed that the white race will stand for that? It is not a supposable case. ...war will break out everywhere like hidden fire from the earth, and it is probable that the white race, being superior in every respect, may push the other back. ...we will be overpowered and our men will be compelled to wander like vagabonds all over the earth; as for our women, the horrors of their state we cannot contemplate in imagination." -- General Henry L. Benning

Juxtapose that with...

"I have to do it. You rape our women and you're taking over our country. And you have to go."

Those who don't know their history truly are doomed to repeat it. False equivalence and unchallenged world views have been permitted for ages. These are the results. Time's up. Here's some red pandas playing in snow.

*--Another example is the title "Much Ado About Nothing" which is a play on words referring both to the trivial nature of the central conflict as well as the parlance of that time when referring to vaginas ("nothing" between her legs as opposed to a man's "something").

**--As do you if you find absurdity as comical as I do...

***--Say it in your best Foghorn Leghorn voice. It's fun!!