Random Thoughts

[Dukefrukem]

The answer is of course MERICA.

[megladon8]

But the end result is the same, I think --- somebody copping to (alleged) crimes to get press & attention. I don't understand why anybody would beef about Cardi and not be upset about all the other shit rappers say.

I never said I was ok with the shit rappers say, but by and large people treat it as a “boys will be boys” type thing and turn a blind eye (which is incredibly messed up in itself, but a different conversation).

The stuff Cardi B says she did to men is being celebrated by her fans, claiming she is some feminist superhero for drugging and robbing men.

[Wryan]

I think it's possible to see the overreaction but also still think she's in the wrong. Also, I don't think the theater of crafting her image should let her go uncriticized. If she's gonna say it like it's something she's proud of, she should be able to defend it against criticisms. I'm not frothing with rage at her, but I do think she's wrong.

[Irish]

I never said I was ok with the shit rappers say, but by and large people treat it as a “boys will be boys” type thing and turn a blind eye (which is incredibly messed up in itself, but a different conversation).

Yeah, but then why hold Cardi to a different standard?

ETA: The original accusation came from a resurfaced livestream she did 3 years ago ... she actually played it down in her instagram post... so this is either straight up PR... or somebody is actively trying to smear her.

[megladon8]

Yeah, but then why hold Cardi to a different standard?

ETA: The original accusation came from a resurfaced livestream she did 3 years ago ... she actually played it down in her instagram post... so this is either straight up PR... or somebody is actively trying to smear her.

Because she is saying it’s something she did and is proud of, whereas male rappers singing stuff about drugs and guns usually comes across as “this could be just BS chest thumping”, like Wryan said.

If Kanye West were to say with a straight face “I used to drug and rape women before I was famous, cause that’s just what I had to do”, I would hope the reaction would be harsh.

[Dukefrukem]

Because she is saying it’s something she did and is proud of, whereas male rappers singing stuff about drugs and guns usually comes across as “this could be just BS chest thumping”, like Wryan said.

If Kanye West were to say with a straight face “I used to drug and rape women before I was famous, cause that’s just what I had to do”, I would hope the reaction would be harsh.

I mean, Ray Lewis killed a guy and he has a statue in Baltimore.

[Irish]

Also, I don't think the theater of crafting her image should let her go uncriticized.

If it's fiction, why not? This is like getting upset that Charles Bukowski was likely a terrible person. It's like, well, we already knew that because that what he was selling.

I've seen her on talk shows and it's not like she hides anything about herself. I kinda love that about her.

[Irish]

Because she is saying it’s something she did and is proud of, whereas male rappers singing stuff about drugs and guns usually comes across as “this could be just BS chest thumping”, like Wryan said.

Click the link and read her instagram post. She backs away from it and makes a series of excuses. I wouldn't say she's proud.

But going your way, even if she's proud then well that's another form of chest-thumping. So why be upset?

If Kanye West were to say with a straight face “I used to drug and rape women before I was famous, cause that’s just what I had to do”, I would hope the reaction would be harsh.

Whole lotta difference between a stripper rolling johns and some rando raping women. C'mon.

[megladon8]

So she gets away with it because she feigns remorse after being called out? In that case shouldn’t pretty much all of the predators from the #MeToo movement get a pass now too?

And sure, that’s a bad comparison. Say Kanye West said he was drugging and robbing women before he made it. You’d be cool with that?

[Skitch]

I mean, Ray Lewis killed a guy and he has a statue in Baltimore.

Well, to be fair, they are monsters.

[megladon8]

I mean, Ray Lewis killed a guy and he has a statue in Baltimore.

I thought it came down?

[Irish]

So she gets away with it because she feigns remorse after being called out? In that case shouldn’t pretty much all of the predators from the #MeToo movement get a pass now too?

Gets away with what? Why are we assuming the story is true?

Going the other way: Scores of dudes have gotten away with various levels of bullshit --- or leveraged it to boost their profile and cred --- and nobody got outraged. So I gotta keep asking. Why not Cardi?

Say Kanye West said he was drugging and robbing women before he made it. You’d be cool with that?

That would be fucking hilarious because Kanye is fucking craaaaaaaaaaazy already.

More seriously, there's a huge power imbalance between men and women, both physical and social. So we can't just flip genders and automatically view the situations as equal. (Eg: No man would admit to robbing women for fear of being viewed as weak.)

But if a dude built his image the way Cardi has built hers, and for the same reasons and in the same way, then I'd think it was a funny story and something of a power move.

(Also, I dunno what any of this has to do with #MeToo because Cardi never said she sexually assaulted anyone.)

[megladon8]

My issue from the start has been her fans acting like this is some admirable, Robin Hood-like behaviour.

If you think all johns are scumbags and creeps who deserve ridicule and ruin, that’s a different conversation.

Cardi B said she drugged and robbed men she brought home for sex. Her fans think she’s awesome for it. I think that’s messed up.

[Irish]

If prostitution is the oldest profession, robbing johns is the second oldest. (Not sure where you're getting "scumbags and creeps" from.)

The way she chose to spin the story --- as female empowerment --- makes me think it's either straight up bullshit or creatively embellished. That's the key takeaway for me. If her life is her art and part of her art, then all this is poetic license.

Beyond that, I don't understand why we can, as culture, interpret the antics of famous men as a form as entertainment but as soon as a woman attempts the same schtick, she's "getting away with it" and needs to be criticized and punished. To me, that's messed up.

ETA: Or as the woman herself put it, "I never claim to be a angel I always been a street bitch Ya be glorifying this street rappers that talk and do that grimmey street shit but they can’t stand a street bitch!"

[megladon8]

I agree it’s messed up.

It’s also messed up to applaud Cardi B for drugging and robbing men.

[Ezee E]

It's hip hop culture.

[MadMan]

I thought it came down?

Haha, no.

[Irish]

You're watching "The Twilight Zone" (any version).

When narrator refers to it in his opening and closing monologue, do you think he's talking about:

a) An actual place, like a parallel dimension or the Bermuda Triangle, that characters can stumble into and out of

b) A character's state of mind, like a psychotic break or mental illness, that's limited to the episode

c) A framing device for a TV show that has no greater meaning

d) All of the above

e) None of the above

f) Something else entirely

[Spinal]

Sort of a mixture of A and C, except I wouldn't say that it has "no greater meaning". I think of the show as an exploration of the unusual things that happen in our lives that cannot be rationally explained, but are so seemingly filled with purpose and irony that they can seem to indicate the presence of a kind of malevolent external force. As I'm watching the show though, I do buy into the conceit that these characters have somehow slipped out of their normal lives into something which could be called a "place". Or maybe a heightened state of existence is a better way to put it, since their actions do seem to have real, concrete consequences. I guess I wouldn't say someone travels to The Twilight Zone. I would say that they slip into a Twilight Zone state of elevated crisis and urgency.

But it's an interesting question.

[Grouchy]

a) Bermuda triangle.

[baby doll]

I understand the Twilight Zone as an example of what Michel Foucault would call a heterotopic space: a sort of liminal area separate from the space of everyday life, reserved often for people in a state of crisis or change or somehow deviant, where the normal standards that govern behaviour are temporarily suspended.

[megladon8]

I imagine some place greasy.

Real greasy.

[Ivan Drago]

I imagine some place greasy.

Real greasy.

You're such a gross out, Meg. I think I might barf.

[MadMan]

I bet it's really the McDonald's from hell. So yeah, meg is right.

[megladon8]

You're such a gross out, Meg. I think I might barf.

What’s that I smell? It’s...

*sniffs*

*wafts*

*more sniffing*

*more wafting*

*continues sniffing*

*wafts some more*

*sniffs*

*wafts*

*extended sniffing*

*wafting*

...

BULLSHIT