Brutally Honest Rant - 08/29/07

Brutally Honest Audio Rant: Phony Martyrs
Audio Transcripts
08/29/07

[Start Program]

(Computer – Introduction)
(Music intro – “American Idiot Remix” – by Green Day and David Matthews 2)

Good evening and welcome to this week’s Brutally Honest Rant. I’m David Matthews 2, writer of the weekly online column Brutally Honest.

I’m trying to clear out a few things this week… and much of what I have to cover can fall under the category of a phony martyr.

Now if there is anyone that you can thank for coming up with the concept of phony martyrs, you can probably thank the mothers of the world, because some of them really knew how to transform their past into YOUR personal guilt trip. You know, how many times have you heard a mother say “I was in labor for NINE HOURS because of YOU”? Odds are she probably spent most of that time numbed up, but she’ll never let you know that.

Anyway, tonight I want to talk about a few people who pretty much claim to be martyrs in one way or another.

First up: Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick.

Hey, I’m in Atlanta so you KNOW this subject would come up at some point!

Okay, first, as longtime listeners know I’m somewhat jaded when it comes to sports, and especially when it comes to sports figures and the cultish mindset that surrounds so-called “athletic superstars”. Hey, if sports is your thing then have at it and have fun. But don’t try to call these overpaid prima-donnas “heroes” because they pale in comparison to the real things.

Anyway, back to Michael Vick. Michael Vick got himself into some serious trouble. Not the first time this happened mind you, but for once this was something that couldn’t be excused as a misunderstanding.

Apparently Michael Vick was involved in a little dogfighting ring. Not only was he involved in it, but he actually HOSTED these things in his own home in Virginia.

Now folks, the way the law is written in Virginia, if you own the home where dogfighting is taking place, then you’re GUILTY of the act, even if you had no knowledge or participation of it. It’s crazy, I know, but then again we’re talking about Virginia.

So this has been something that has been brewing for several months now. Evidence is collected, witnesses summoned, and Vick’s friends basically cut deals to turn on him. There are stories and allegations of Vick actually killing some of the dogs that underperformed. Anyway, you have state charges and federal charges brewing up. You have the animal rights people and pretty much anyone who likes dogs not only wanting Vick to be FIRED from professional football, but ready to have him treated like he allegedly treated his dogs.

Now mind you, I’m watching all this stuff with amusement. Like I said, from just the stance of the state law, since he OWNED the house involved, he was screwed.

Anyway, Vick FINALLY cuts a plea deal. He pleads guilty to one federal count of conspiracy and takes all the lumps of that charge, including possibly going to prison.

And NOW Vick and his few remaining supporters are out playing the martyr card.

You have special interest groups claiming that Vick is being crucified because he’s BLACK and you have Vick himself claiming that he’s turning himself over to God and claiming that he found “Jesus”, he’s looking to, quote, “grow up”, and hoping that the judge will be lenient.

Sorry… not buying it!

First, Michael Vick wasn’t being crucified because he’s BLACK. He was charged because BROKE THE LAW. Like I said, he owned the home that was used for dogfighting. Under Virginia law, that means HE is responsible for what goes on in it. Which part of that does not register in your brain? I think that people would be just as pissed off about the charges if it involved Payton Manning or some other equally overpaid and over-hyped athlete.

Oh, and lay off the whole thing about “he’s an innocent man who is being wrongly persecuted”. That MAY have worked before this week, but as soon as he knowingly and willingly entered his GUILTY plea after consulting with his lawyers, that whole line about being “innocent” is thrown out the door.

Second, this whole thing about “finding Jesus”… why is it that Vick “found Jesus” only AFTER he pled guilty in an arranged plea deal? Why didn’t he “find Jesus” when the charges were just coming out and BEFORE his friends cut deals to throw him under the bus? Why is it that he “finds Jesus”… or Jésus… only BEFORE he ends up meeting with Carlos and Ramon and the rest of Cellblock H?

I’m sorry folks, but this sounds like it comes out of some shyster lawyer’s playbook. You know, drop enough buzzwords and hope for forgiveness and a light sentence. I’m just waiting for him to announce that he’s going into rehab just to make the whole phony redemption scam complete.

The funny part is watching Falcons owner Arthur Blank claim that the team was NEVER ALL ABOUT Michael Vick! PLEASE! That’s a Clinton-quality lie and you know it! Arthur Blank BET THE FARM on Michael Vick! He put everything he had into Michael Vick! EVERYTHING was about Michael Vick! All he supposedly NEEDED was Michael Vick! And he’s not the only one who does it, of course, but then to turn around and deny it is just plain STUPID.

On the plus side, when Vick gets out of prison, Arthur Blank will have a dedicated contractual employee that he can have stock the shelves over at his Home Depot corporation. So at least Vick will have a JOB to look forward to… just not one playing football.

Next: Bye-bye Gonzo!

Attorney General Alberto “Gonzo” Gonzales has finally announced his resignation, and it couldn’t come soon enough for this online commentator.

The press wants to paint Gonzo as the ultimate “Yes Man” for the Bush Imperium. But in truth, Gonzo is a “Make-Yes Man”, as in he would find ways to MAKE the answer “yes”. Want to get around the Constitution? Gonzo would find a legal expert that would MAKE that answer a “yes”. Want to get around the Geneva Convention? He himself crafted the loophole being used today! He’s not a boot-licker… he’s the hatchet man of the operation.

Now here’s the problem: that kind of person may good for the White House as part of your legal staff. But it’s NOT good when you put that person in charge of the nation’s law enforcement branch!

Let’s think about this for a moment… here’s a person whose mission in life is to make the President’s “YES” answer happen, by any means necessary, and he’s being put in charge of a branch of the government which by its very nature in this country has certain LIMITATIONS. That means that you have to ACCEPT that the answer will at times be “NO”. The two concepts simply DO NOT work together!

And that is what led to the scandal about his office firing eight attorneys, which I admit in the grand scheme of things was blown up to being more than what it should have been. Basically you had the White House PUNISHING eight prosecutors for either going after Republicans or for not targeting Democrats. In other words, they were being asked to carry out a POLITICAL agenda instead of a LEGAL one, and they got fired because they chose instead to do their jobs. Now the neo-cons have been, still are and will continue to weasel this issue because they have no other way to excuse it. And IF the Department of Justice simply went ahead and fired ALL of the prosecutors so that Gonzo could carry on with a new staff, I really don’t think that would have been an issue. It’s been done before. But instead, Gonzo and his staff of hatchet men (and hatchet women) carried out their political agenda, and supposedly violated the rule of law in the process.

And it’s in TRYING to explain this whole thing that got Gonzo in hot water the new Democrat-controlled Congress!

But try telling that to our Doofus-in-Chief. Bush Junior is bitter because his number two Texas buddy and inner-circle confidant felt that it was time to leave and he’s playing the phony martyr card, claiming that Gonzo was “a victim” of the Democrats. Oh give me a freaking break, Junior! You wouldn’t know what a martyr was if one came up and slapped you upside the head. Actually I think that anyone who manages to slap George W. Bush upside the head would probably end up BEING a martyr after they do it anyway; so at least at that point, Junior would really KNOW what a martyr was.

Let’s get brutally honest here… Alberto Gonzales has nobody to blame for his problems but HIMSELF! He got caught in a LIE and people were actually CALLING him out on it!

In fact, Junior playing the phony martyr card was disgustingly too much, because there really was a good chance that Gonzo would have managed to stay in office even if every single lie he ever told was exposed and verified. The do-nothing Democrats lack the very SPINE needed to do what’s right, and in all likelihood they would have let Gonzo stay right where he was because their inept consultants would tell them that it would be good for them in next year’s elections.

If anything, his departure was probably orchestrated to specifically stymie the Democrats and take yet another so-called “election tool” away from them. They lost Bush’s brain – Karl Rove – because of their ineptitude… they lost Bush’s mouth – Tony Snow – even though he did nothing to warrant scrutiny… and now they’re losing Bush’s spine. As long as Condi behaves and Dick doesn’t shoot anyone else in the face, it’s pretty much a safe bet that the only thing that Bush Junior will have to fear between now and January of 2009 is another bag of pretzels.

(Computer – some political stuff)
(Fade Music In – “Mythodea” by Vangelis)

There’s a really great line in the movie “Dogma” that pretty much separates real martyrs for the phony ones. “One of the drawbacks to being a martyr is that you have to die.” Phony martyrs, of course, aren’t dead. They just make YOU wish that you WERE dead so you wouldn’t have to put up with their guilt trips.

In the end, phony martyrdom is really nothing more than another form of psychological warfare, and it should pretty much be treated as such. The only reason why it works is because we get caught up in it by those that we lack the courage to challenge head-on. As long as we don’t confront it, it will continue to be used against us.

(Pause)

Brutally Honest is a Get Brutal production; all opinions expressed are those of the commentator, and may or may not be shared by the online provider. This is David Matthews 2 saying good night, and I’ll speak with you soon!

(Fade out)
(Computer – Ending/“End of Recording”)

[End of program]
------------------------------