A Not So Fein Time
I’ve been sitting on this for about a week, so I might as well lead off with it.
I feel like since I took over for Wednesdays that there has been a drought of interesting news for me to comment on. In general, I have limited this column to the Little Things and WM XX speculation, because that is pretty much all I see worth discussing as far as wrestling goes. So imagine my chagrin after I admittedly mailed in my report last week when I see the Rob Feinstein story break. I had to wait a whole week to finally make my comments, but I think this is going to make my commentary better in the end. I’ve seen just about every news guy’s take on the issue and I think mine is fairly different. See what you think
Firstly, I want to say from the start that I do not condone what Mr. Feinstein did. Using the Internet to meet underage sex partners is clearly wrong and should be punished. I don’t think anyone is going to make an issue out of that and Rob is going to suffer for his actions. He has already had to step away from the promotion he worked hard to build and his image and credibility within that industry is completely shot beyond repair. Not to mention within the general public.
A lot of the reaction I saw within the IWC to this was to be expected. People making fun of his plight, people taking exception to Rob betraying the industry that has been good to him by foolishly handling himself, people expressing concern over the well-being of a promotion filled with workers they enjoy, people expressing concern over how this is going to make wrestling and the fans of that sport look to the rest of the world. All valid concerns.
My concern is over something different though and it’s something that has been bothering me for about the last five years. It seemingly gets worse each year, too. I’m talking about the politics of personal destruction.
As far as I’m concerned, this problem started with the Ken Starr witchhunt of President Clinton back in the late 90’s. A Congress eager to sink a dagger into a president that they despised sent Ken Starr under the independent counsel law to investigate some purportedly shady dealings with some property in Arkansas. Finding nothing, he dragged taxpayer dollars and the American public through a lengthy investigation that ultimately found that the president had received a blowjob and lied about it.
Hey, whatever works.
The independent counsel law was quickly removed after that whole fiasco, probably because a lot of politicians realized the danger behind it. An investigator bent on finding something will find something especially since just about everyone has skeletons in their closets. Especially politicians.
Has it gotten worse? I would tend to think so. I can cite numerous examples of people humiliating others to the benefit of their own personal agendas. I instantly think of the infamous Bumfighting tapes where some college kids made a good deal of money paying homeless men to batter each other on camera. Shit, Bill O’Reilly hosts a show every night on a national news station where he picks fights with people he doesn’t agree with in order to foster his own image as a moral journalist who knows what is right for us. How else could he write a book called “Who’s Looking Out For You?â€Â
Then we come to the websites. Smokinggun.com probably makes a pretty penny in advertising by posting mug shots of famous people getting arrested and looking like idiots. Not that I’m saying celebrities have it rough, but aren’t they entitled to a little privacy as well?
Pervertedjustice.com is exactly the type of thing I’m talking about here. They would claim that they are making the public safer and more aware of predators like Mr. Feinstein by exposing them for the perverts that they are. In reality, they are drawing in ratings for a local NBC news show and more than likely profiting from the website they run where they post their findings. Consequently, Rob was less of a capture for this site and more of a big score – a well known guy with a lot to lose and some name recognition to get people talking about what happened.
If you really think there is any altruism at work here, simply go back and read the transcript. Rob at multimple times thinks about backing out, but the people behind the site bait him back in. They WANT Rob to falter because it is in their best interest. They are less like flypaper and more like a venus flytrap in this sense and to me there is something wrong about that. Under the law, what they did is called entrapment.
To me, this is basically a form of vigilante justice where a wrong is not only punished, but done so in an arbitrary, unrestricted manner. It’s up to the law to defend us from people like Rob and punish them accordingly, not a bunch of news guys out to make a buck and who have no problem using whatever means they feel they can and dragging someone’s face in the mud in the process.
Again, it’s easy to make light of Rob’s plight. What he did was embarrassing and sure enough, his punishment was embarrassing as well. It’s also easy to say “well, if you don’t do anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry aboutâ€Â. But therein lies the problem – who decides what is wrong? And more importantly, is how much they can profit from it going to affect their judgment of what is right and wrong?
What gets lost often in all the fingerpointing is the fact that we all have problems. Yeah, we aren’t all homosexual child predators, but we struggle with drugs, work, relationships, religion, and sometimes we make embarrassing mistakes that are personal. I’d rather have mine not be fodder for the local news or someone’s book. To be honest, sometimes I wish people would just lay off of other people and mind their own problems.
Afterall, how much of a hero is a guy pretending to be a horny 14 yr old hungry for older men?
Cena, But Not Heard
Let’s keep the debate rolling.
As if I needed another reason to be bored about what I’m seeing on television, Mr. Cena is apparently losing some of his creative license with his raps. This is blowback from the infamous Janet Jackson incident at the Super Bowl, as advertisers and networks scramble to cover their butts from potential lawsuits, Congressional action and the like.
This definitely sucks, but again, think more clearly about who you blame in this case. I do not blame the WWe, it is merely protecting itself from what it views as a viable threat to its financial well-being. Surprisingly, I do not blame Janet either. You can blame her for bad taste all you want, and deservedly so, but this wave of censorship is not really her doing.
Blame your neighbor. You know, the one with the 2.5 kids, the SUV and Target discount card. Blame your easily offended grandparents who think the world is headed down the tubes. These are the people who are active enough to pester the Congressmen and make an issue out of this stuff. They are the ones who cannot handle a little tit with a ring on it on television.
Or, maybe you should blame yourself for not being as active as they are.
At any rate, who are these people to tell you what you should see on television? And more importantly, the Super Bowl, a holiday for males aged 19-34? Should these type of people who watch one frikkin game a year, who probably asked you a bunch of dumbass questions about the Panthers and Patriots the entire first half and then spent the second half pissing and moaning about the halftime show tell YOU what should and should not be on television? The radio? Anywhere?
MTV was simply supplying us, the core audience, with a show they thought we’d like in my mind. They had stars both old and new that we have enjoyed and it was racy. Yes, racy. Guys like racy. Look at the other shows we watch, they all fit the description. Oz, Sopranos, Simpsons, Family Guy, Daily Show, South Park, you name it. Now, because a bunch of old people and hypocritical middle class families didn’t like it, I can’t hear my man Cena rap anymore.
And yes, I said hypocritical because part of me agrees with Gloomchen’s piece on Monday. There are some parents who think this Janet business is ruining their kids’ minds, but are somehow unaware that their kids are out throwing firecrackers in the streets, racing shopping carts, picking on each other or planning to shoot up the local high school.
Get real. And again, mind your own business.
News to me – Brock Star Attitude
I try to take the rumors with a grain of salt, but one really has to wonder what Brock is thinking. I mean, dude, we all like to go to the gym and don’t really look forward to long trips on business, but buddy you are a guy who is main eventing and getting to travel the globe. The money you generate, as reported by Ashish, is making the company and therefore yourself money. Like triple what you’re seeing in the States.
What’s the problem?
Maybe the specter of the Undertaker and jobbing to him is haunting more than just Kane these days.
Ha ha, I can be funny sometimes.
The Little Things
This segues very nicely into…
1. Talk To Tha Thong
I’m glad I’m not the only one who can reminisce about the old Little Things we all used to enjoy. When Jerry asked JR about remembering when Lita used to have a showy thong as part of her ring attire, didn’t you think back to those days too?
I wonder why it’s not there anymore
2. Up And Away
Reader Satya Moorthy noted the following:
When Hurricane / Rock were talking, at the end, when Hurricane and Rosey left for the ring, Rock looked up, like the two superheroes took off flying (off screen)
It’s like he never went away. To be honest, the Eric S. distinction (I’m giving proper credit this week) is dead on – Heel rock = fun, face rock = boring.
But I understand, dude has to try and sell some tickets so he can walk away from the business for a longer period of time.
Yeah, I have issues this week. Deal with it.
3. The Conversion Continues
I’ve gone through Goldust, Victoria, Test and a score of others as my darkhorse Little Things overachiever, but I think Christian has legs. His lines (flat on his back) and that jacket that I can’t seem to get enough of are enough proof for now. Plus, does anyone else think that face he makes when they are showing WM XX promos is flat out hiliarious?
4. Well Coached Team
Speaking to my 2nd point did anyone else think it was funnier when Coach clicked and grinned than when the Rock did it? Did anyone else wish that Coach had come in and retaliated? That the Rock can’t pull off a certain look (the hate, sunglasses and goatee) like Coach? Jonathan Coachman???
Maybe it’s just me.
5. On An Unrelated Note
Recently the news came out that Cena is well-liked backstage for his attitude and the fact that he isn’t a screw up (doesn’t do drugs, drink, keeps himself straight, etc.).
I try to be fair in this column. So while I have said a ton of great things about Cena, I will say that maybe this is a problem to an extent. He is an edgy thug, so where are all the edgy thug little things? Tats for example?
I know, it’s nitpicking. He rocks the wardrobe and would spit the rhymes if he was being booked properly and the advertisers weren’t all in a tizzy about which old fart might get offended, but hey, the more Iverson he could be, the better, I think.
Just something I had been thinking about.
Keep the comments coming in and I’ll holla atcha next week.
Haley
