Henry's Shit List

Greetings,

So, first question will be where the hell did this idea came from. Well, I was on one of my usual walks to get some air and some exercise, with music playing in my ears, as usual. A particular song came up on my playlist, that would be "Shitlist" by L7. So, I decided that I would begin one here, being that the ones that hit the top of mine are mostly of the political kind.

This will be a "work in progress" because I will likely come back and re-order, and add to it as time goes along depending on how I feel at the time. I have not put it on my Patreon site, because I want people to have access to it, nice and easily, not that I get many hits on this blog.

The question is always where to start and where to rank them, so I will go with the ones that affect my life the most...

1.  Politicians:
1. the kind of politicians who claim that there is too much money being spent on social programs, and yet have no problem with increasing their salaries, especially in the same financial year;
2. the kind of politicians who claim there is no money to increase payments for pensions of all kinds, and yet can give big fat contributions to wealthy corporate sponsors of their political campaigns;
2. Corporate Leaders (of all kinds): Congratulations you've won capitalism. How much is enough? Do you even know what your profits are doing to your workers? When your profits in a single year could solve the social issues in a country and you contribute less than 1% tax, and less than 1% back to the community. You're only No. 2 because the politicians maintain the system that allows you to do this.
3. Extremists: of all forms, here I mean you who are at the extreme perspective of any system of thought. In this group I include all forms of extreme thoughts as you refuse to see the issues you create from not seeing a "middle way". This is seen in the aspect of terrorists, but also in such things as radical environmentalists and feminists. The focus should be on the best benefit for humanity. You refuse to see any other way than your own.
4. Media Moguls: You're just as bad as your buddies (politicians) above. You have taken it upon yourselves to decide what we should watch, what we should read, and what we should hear on a regular basis. Your purpose is  to encourage us to spend, to support your businesses and those of your corporate friends. Your other purpose is to facilitate the perpetuation of systems of abuse of those who are in a lower economic situation. Just to be clear that would be all of them, be they of a different colour, have disabilities, different religion, or different citizenship status. Isn't our society supposed to be becoming more Inclusive?
5. Celebrities: I think I would have to put most of them on this list to tell you the truth, because most of them have done nothing to deserve the celebrity they have, or done things which should result in their status being revoked. Notoriety is not renown, we should follow those who have renown, not those who have notoriety.
1. Sporting celebrities: supposed to be held up as examples for junior players of the sports yet they play the game with a focus on winning at all costs, not for the love of the game. The same can be said of the same kind of celebrities who also run amok in public, also setting a bad example for junior players.
2. The Rich: who have done nothing except been born into the correct family, this is what has made them supposedly famous. Why should we follow the example of someone just because they have a lot of money, especially when they set such bad examples?
3. Models: who represent such a small slice of the population, that set such high expectations for body-image. Yet, can they be blamed for this? Is it not also the industry they follow that pushes them to be like this? I would say it is more the case of what makes one shape of body better than another? How can one person feel superior because they are one body shape? Just to be clear on this one, it is as difficult to be Ken as it is to be Barbie.
4. Actors: who are stuck in the capitalist system. They demand ridiculous rates of pay, to maintain their lifestyles to which they have become accustomed. Once they attain this pay-grade, they believe they deserve it, and special consideration for everything. Again, where they set a bad example, are they people we should be following? Follow the actor who is truthful to their craft, rather than the one who is paid the most.
6. Selfish People: This is the broadest category ever. It covers people who simply can't think for anyone else but themselves. Many of the people already on my list can also be doubly included in this category as well. People on public transport who disregard simple courtesies.
1. Teenagers: Yes I sound like an old person. However, these individuals are becoming more and more self-entitled by the year. They talk about rights, never responsibilities. They have no care for anyone but themselves.
2. Drivers: In this category we include drivers who drive aggressively because it is more important for them to get somewhere than anyone else. 

So, this is the beginning of my list. I am sure there will be a lot more to come as I think about them. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, and I also believe this. These are very broad brushes, but I don't feel like going through and spotting every single individual.

An update (10/04/24): I added Extremists to the list today, because they are the cause of a lot of harm in society through their extreme views. They are unwilling to see anything but their point of view concerning certain matters even if there are contradictory aspects in their view. This dogmatic approach is not useful to anyone.

An update (23/05/24): I added Selfish People to the list today, because I just don't get it. I don't understand the kind of person who must put themselves first, must have before everyone else, must do before everyone else, who has no consideration for anyone else but themselves. Behind the wheel of a car, these people are dangerous. In public, they push in lines, stand in the middle of footpaths, have loud conversations in quiet areas, and generally make a nuisance out of themselves. This is the result of the decline in courtesy, the decline in consideration for other people in the world. Too much "me first."

Cheers,

Henry.

Of Celebrities

 Greetings,

The subject of celebrities is one which comes up on a regular occasion because the paparazzi and the mass media has their cameras pointed at them all of the time. We hear reports of what this celebrity did and what that celebrity did. We hear often hear about this celebrity's problems with the law, and that celebrity's issues with drugs and alcohol, most recently we have seen one celebrity assaulting another, named as the "slap that was heard around the world" and other such trope. I refuse to name either celebrity that was involved because I do not believe that either should get recognition for being involved in such an incident. We have lost our way, we have lost the reason for celebrities.

Definition

So we may understand what is being spoken about we shall examine some definitions of "celebrity" as they have been presented in various sources. First from the Cambridge Dictionary, it defines celebrity as, "the state of being famous" (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/celebrity). A very simple definition, no explanation. There was more to this definition, but this was the essence. A celebrity is a person who is famous, so the definition certainly is not wrong, however there has to be more to this subject. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives a two-part answer, "1. the state of being celebrated" and "2. a famous or celebrated person"(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/celebrity). The first describes what celebrity means as a word, the second describes what a celebrity is as a person. Here we begin to come to the core of the idea of the celebrity, they are a person who is celebrated for some reason, or they are just famous. The former part of the definition is important the idea that celebrity is "the state of being celebrated". This is a point worth noting and considering.

The last definition that will be examined, and there are quite a few more out there is one from the Wikipedia, this gives the definition of a celebrity, but also examines the grades of celebrity and also the negative sides of celebrity. The Wikipedia articles are always useful as they do give some more in-depth discussion and further places for investigation, its one of the reasons that I always have liked them, more so as their references have improved. Back to the discussion at hand the Wikipedia defines celebrity as follows,

"Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. ... 'Celebrity' usually implies a favorable public image, as opposed to the neutrals 'famous' or 'notable', or the negatives 'infamous' and 'notorious'." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity)

Here the public recognition is a result of the attention given to them by mass media. The individual does not have to have done anything really, they just have to have grabbed the attention of mass media to gain fame and public recognition, a favourable act which was performed in front of the mass media which stands them out helps a lot. It then indicates the grades of celebrity, through the notable to the notorious, who should not garner our attention at all.

Notorious

No sooner than we hear this word these days than it sparks our attention. The individual who is notorious must be a "bad boy or girl" they attract as much attention as those with the positive image in our topsy-turvy twisted turned upside-down world. In a previous age, in at least "polite" society a person who gained a "notorious" reputation would be ostracised from polite society, rejected from their company. In this society, where reputation counted, this was a kind of death, which any person would try and stay away from.

These days "any publicity is good publicity" and this is very sad, because what sort of message is it sending to our younger generation? Think about it. If those people who we are holding up as people who are celebrities, those people who we are supposed to be looking up to, are performing negative activities and getting attention for it, what does it tell children? Especially if the next day the same individual doesn't pay any consequences for their actions.

Public Reactions

In some cases there are some knee-jerk reactions to celebrities doing bad things, a celebrity gets caught being involved in homophobia, or sexual abuse, or some other social crime. There is a call by some people to burn their books or their music, to boycott them, never to buy their stuff, or listen to them again; even the suggestion of a public burning in protest. The same reaction is picked up in the media and is beamed around the world.

The result: more publicity for the individual. What would really hurt a celebrity in these situations? The exact opposite. Don't mention their name. Don't mention them on social media. Refuse to give them any sort of "grass-roots" publicity. Anytime something about them comes on the television or radio, turn it off. Don't watch things about them on the internet. Drown them in silence. Deny them the publicity.

Real Celebrities

People who should be celebrities are people who should be celebrated. Think about members of our emergency services who risk their lives day in and day out, they should be celebrated. The teams of doctors who invented the various COVID vaccines, they should be celebrated. People who keep us safe should be celebrated. The Romans celebrated their returning heroes from campaigns, they celebrated their gladiators, but the celebrations only lasted until they did not deserve them anymore.

The title of celebrity, should be reserved for those who should be celebrated. Why should a person be celebrated just because they have insanely large amounts of money? Why should a person be celebrated because they happened to be born to the right family? What are these people being celebrated for? Our politicians should only be celebrated when they actually do something to be celebrated, and no other time, other than that they are doing a job, just the same as a cleaner, or a person who repairs the roads.

Let's start celebrating the right people for the right reasons.

Cheers,

Henry.

P.S. You will notice a lot of Wikipedia links in my posts. This is a great resource of free information which is now reliably researched, as you will note by the references which appear at the bottom of each page. I donate to the Wikimedia Foundation every year to keep this non-profit group operational, and I recommend that everyone do the same, you can do this HERE. Please give, and keep this free source of information alive, there are few of them these days.