Intolerance and Anger

My twitter feed lately has been filled with hot laced anger. Anger at the Sad Puppies, gamer gaters, sexism, racism, inequality, and everything else under the sun. Yes people are hating on cotton candy. There have been epic battles featuring monsters with tentacles vs. Naruto vs. space mech suits vs. Godzilla vs. etc.. The tweets have been emotional calls to battle or outright attacks on others. I was even pulled into the emotional torrent that was swirling at one point.

This blog post isn't about any of those issues in particular. I wanted to focus on something else I noticed that I found to be interesting in the way these various conflicts developed. It has to do with the mindset of the groups involved. I'm not here to say that everyone in these groups subscribe to either mindset as I am about to outline them any more than I would say that everyone must love chocolate ice cream. It doesn't matter if I think you should love chocolate ice cream. If you don't want any then that means more for ME, and if you do want some...  I hid the tub. Good luck finding it!

I'm going to try to avoid the political pitfalls of what this blog post is about in favor of focusing on how these conflicts arise. Many of these conflicts are overflowing into the political arena with gay marriage becoming more of an accepted eventuality across the country. I want to delve deeper into the thinking behind these conflicts. The voices in my head want to probe your mind with PEZ dispencers, LEGOs, and other such plastic instruments that may have been covered in a child's drool at one point.

The groups that I am going to address here generally label themselves as "conservative". This isn't necessarily true of all conservatives or conservative groups. These groups are very good at rallying support. Once they have decided to back a leader, no one questions that leader. If the leader messes something up completely they may have to walk the plank, but their hardcore supporters will not abandon ship. They are more likely to double down on the embarrassment rather than go against the tide. A good example is the advent of the Sad Puppies. They have had success promoting their slate at the Hugos. There has been at least one author who has asked not to be associated with their slate because of the push back they have received. Bottom line is that they have been effective due to their ability to rally their following into action.

The leaders of these groups don't feel the need to explain themselves. I've seen this time and again. At some point someone asks how the group works or why is it the way it is. The response is to deflect by stating their goal. Their stated goal always sounds like a great idea that everyone should sign up for. "We do it this way because puppies are cute!" If they don't deflect then they will refer to something that happened at the beginning and put the onus back on the person asking to look it up. If you try to look it up then more often than not you will find smoke. Sometimes there isn't anything there to back up their assertions, it's not easy to find, or only partially explains things.

These groups don't let the truth stand in their way. If what they are pushing is based on lies then they repeat those lies until they seem like the truth. They get their supporters to repeat the lies so it doesn't seem like something one person made up. This is how you get people who adamantly oppose the idea of climate change. Climate change has been a fact in the scientific community for quite some time, but you still have politicians who publicly announce that they don't think it is real. I've seen people argue that the latest science shows that climate change isn't real, but they are unable to provide any credible evidence. I send them a link to a recent article from NASA and they still deny it. It simply baffles me how these people can stare in the face of truth and say "Nope!" There's a brick wall in their way and they keep walking into it because they refuse to believe it's real.

Many times these groups promote a hidden agenda that can seem obvious to outsiders. An agenda that many of their supporters fail to see no matter how obvious or in some cases they might try to defend the agenda anyway. In the case of the Sad Puppies it seems obvious that they are promoting their own works and the works of their friends while trying to diminish the influence of other authors they don't like. The gamergate supporters are obviously promoting a sexist agenda.

The conflict arises when people start to question what these groups are doing. Inconsistencies are pointed out, the hidden agenda exposed, and individuals begin to fight back. It's better if something like this happens early where people can squash it before it gets started. The destruction of Clean Reader is one example of this happening. Eventually the truth will come out for those who look for it. It's up to those who find them to bring those truths to light and share them with others.

On a final note, I just want to shortly address a personal annoyance of mine. What irks me the most is when these groups try to cling on to conservative "Christian" values. Then they go on to support sexist, anti-carebears, racist, anti-LGBTQIA, unicorn killing, etc. agendas. Jesus taught a message of love and tolerance. It is not our job to judge others based on their differences whether we agree or disagree with them. When anyone does so they are not representing "Christian" values of any kind.

Jurassic World

Rated PG-13 / 2 hr 4 min / Action - Adventure - SciFi

What is it about?

Twenty years after the first Jurassic Park was a complete failure, a new park is open. Jurassic Disney World has been a success as an amusement park on Isla Nublar for a few years now. Mickey Mouse has sharp teeth and scales here. Two teens are visiting their niece who is one of the administrators at the park. Yes she gets to wear a princess costume. In their infinite wisdom of not learning from past mistakes, they have designed a new dinosaur. One that is an aggressive predator with more teeth. They have engineered a mecha-toothbrush to take care of the obvious need created by the new monster. The new dinosaur is smarter than your average bear and it wants all the picnic baskets. How are they going to stop it when it has a giant mecha-toothbrush at its disposal?

You will like it if...

You liked the first two Jurassic Park films. This one is a new Jurassic Park for the next generation. It has a mix of the first two films. The awe and wonder of a child first seeing dinosaurs roaming the land like the original. It is later supplanted by the fear and terror of having to run from fast hungry dinosaurs similar to the second film. I would feed them skittles, I hear Velociraptors like them. Chris Pratt has a space pirate charm about him that has been missing from the characters in the series since the first Jurassic Park. Vincent D'Onofrio has also become quite adept at playing the villain. He gets to expand on his role as the Kingpin here. While the special effects are just as amazing as the originals, this film needed a better script to set it apart. They managed to recapture the awe of the original while building upon the story. Still Jurassic World doesn't fully break free of feeling like a rehash of the original films. Many of the same messages are hammered on once again, but instead of beating a dead horse they have a dinosaur. Jurassic World ends up being a better than average action movie, but fails to do enough to set it apart from the previous films. If you haven't seen any of the Jurassic Park films or if you were a huge fan of the originals then you should enjoy it.

Next Week

Inside Out

Chasing the Dream

Everyone has a dream. Something they strive for. Something they wish for the future. We all know pain, longing and defeat. These are the things that keep me up at night like the infused sugar high of eating too much PEZ candy. No one likes to feel the pain of falling short, of failing to reach your goals. These fears chase me as the Grim Reaper does, whipping me like a cart horse.

Most people think their dreams or goals are impossible, so they don't even try. How can you know for sure if you never get to the first step? The best time to begin chasing your dreams is always right now. Even if you try and fail, at least you tried. You looked up at the mountain and vowed to yourself that you would reach the top and touch the beard of Zues.

I tell you now that the longing you feel, the dream that you wish for more than anything, is your destiny. You have only to reach out for that brass ring and grab hold of it. It may try to buck you loose like a rowdy pissed off bull. Don't let go. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to. That bull may knock you senseless causing you to lose that grip. Grab the ring again and again.

The only way to fail is to quit trying. Try until you can't try anymore. Each failure is just an attempt at future success. Your dream is like chopping down a tree. You can't stop after a few chops of the axe! How are you going to build that writer's shed for me if you can't even get one stinking tree down? Keep chopping at that dream until it submits. Make it cry out in extacy as you tie it up in some kind of weird bondage thing.

Once you have spent your last bit of energy, when you can no longer stand and fight, when every option has been exhausted, when the time on the clock finally ticks to zero, then maybe you can admit failure and give up on your dream. Or you could try again. If you still have passion and blood flowing through your veins there is still hope for a bright happy future filled with rainbows and uni-kitties. I know it's hard. It takes blood, sweat, and tears to build a future like this. As long as you are physically able to try there is hope. That last shining ray of light beckoning you to move forward.

I am never giving up on my dream. These stories overflow in my mind and compel me to write them. I cannot contain them. They will vault me to the mountain top, and it will be glorious. I have a confetti cannon for you. Will you join me?

Spy

Rated R / 2 hr / Action - Comedy - Crime

What is it about?

Agent Cooper with the CIA is stuck in a rut. She works in the office giving support to Agent Fine who is one of their best. She is in his ear guiding him through his missions, tipping him off to threats, filing his taxes, and waxing his back. Agent Fine accidentally shoots a terrorist in the head while trying to get the location of a nuclear Furby. Now his daughter Rayna is the only one who knows where the Furby is. Agent Fine goes commando on a mission going after Rayna, and gets shot in the face for it. She makes it clear that she knows the identity of all the Pokemon too, so the CIA has to send an unknown to gather intelligence. Agent Cooper volunteers to come out from behind her computer, to go out into the field, and do what she was born to do. Act like Betty White in a catsuit.

You will like it if...

You like action/comedies similar to The Heat and 21 Jump Street. This movie goes a bit heavier on the action than McCarthy's previous films, but there is still plenty of comedy to go around. Some of the special effects and action stunts are quite impressive. Seeing a walrus tumbling around on wires like Jet Li is unique. I was expecting Spy to be funnier than it actually is. I can't remember a single big laugh throughout although there were many chuckle worthy scenes. The script is well written with the usual bells and whistles you would expect from an action movie. The best scenes are when Byrne and McCarthy get to play off each other. Byrne is simply fantastic in this film as is her hair. She has a better beehive than Marge Simpson. The end result is a highly entertaining film of the action/comedy variety that should satisfy any fan of Melissa McCarthy.

Next Week

Jurassic World

Entourage

Rated R / 1 hr 44 mins / Comedy

What is it about?

Ari Gold is on a mission to talk fast and kick ass. He retired, but then convinced his wife to let him return to work as long as he has fun doing it. So now when he curses someone out for messing with him he says "Weeeeeee" afterwards. He has been offered the job of being the head of a major motion picture studio. Of course for his first film he wants Vincent Chase to star. Vince won't do it unless he can direct and gets to throw a party with several partially clothed women. Fast forward several months. The film is almost done, but they are over budget and need more money to finish it. Apparently the CGI animated dancing penguins cost a lot in his update of Mary Poppins. Ari goes to Texas to speak with Billy Bob Thornton who is financing the film. He wants his son to see the film before he approves any more money. He makes it clear that if his son isn't happy then he will take a dump on the film then put it in a paper bag, place it on Tom Cruise's doorstep, and set it on fire.

You will like it if...

You liked the original Entourage TV Series. The film is like one long episode of the original series. Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold was always the most entertaining character in the series and he gets an opportunity to shine again. Each of the side characters in the entourage gets their own subplot. Johnny Drama is still summoning his inner Rodney Dangerfield. Vincent gets to sit there and be pretty. He feels like a minor character even though he is cast as the "star" since everyone else steals every scene he's in. Turtle gets to drink slim fast and chase Ronda Rousey's rabbit. Eric gets to play Hugh Heffner while his ex is pregnant with his child. Some parts of the storyline seem way over the top, but the rest is interesting enough to keep you entertained. Much of it seems like it is unresolved at the end, but the original show was similar in nature. Bottom line is that if you are a fan of the series then you must see this film. It is a fitting send off for the cast, but they leave it open for a sequel just in case it does well in the box office. If you missed out on the series then I would suggest checking it out first. You don't need to see the series first, but there is a lot of back story you will miss out on if you skip it.

Later This Week

Spy