2:32 am - Thurs 11/25/04
Misdirected Rage In The Form Of Retarded Resistance

Thurs 11/25/04 (12:31 a.m.)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Okay, getting off the subject of "me" for a moment...

If you're following the news these days, does it seem like things are particularly insane right now?

On the local news, they reported the story of the lynch mob in Mexico who killed the two undercover policemen with the headline, "Vigilante justice gets out of hand".

(Cause I guess in most cases, "vigilante justice" is more judiciously applied.)

And apparently, according to the CNN website, the FBI has determined that "Hate crimes are fueled by prejudice".
(Who knew? I thought "hate crimes" were fueled by too much Red Bull and beef jerky...)

The Vibe awards stabbing, the Pacers/Pistons/Pistons fans fracas...Maybe I'm showing my liberal bias here, but I blame the Bush administration for all this hostility.

I have a question for any theatre folk reading this...

In Chorus Line, does "Zack" (The director of the imaginary show that's being cast) appear onstage, or is he just an offstage voice? I've never seen the show onstage�though I was one of the 5 or 10 people who actually saw the movie when it was in theaters--but my understanding has been that he doesn't appear in the stage production.

(Further confusing the issue was a picture I saw in Backstage recently, where there was a picture of a production with "Zack" and...ummm, is it "Cassie" who's the older lead dancer trying to make her way back into the chorus?)

I'm asking because it's being done here, and the answer will determine whether or not I'll audition for it (If the answer is "he's an offstage voice", I'll definitely audition, but if not, then probably not).

Here's the reason I'm ambivalent, to say the least, about following the news�I read a story on CNN recently about a mother who killed her infant daughter, while having some kind of psychotic episode, by cutting off her arms.

As tasteless as it might be, I find myself wanting to make a joke�"And I have doubts about my capacity to be a parent..."�just to relieve the the abject horror I feel.

And the anger: It seems like every time you read a story about a child dying in foster care, or a mother freaking out and killing her own children, there was every opportunity for social services to intervene, and they dropped the fucking ball.

If you follow these things, it happens with disheartening regularity.

More recently, I read a story about a woman who went to a party, and since she couldn't find a sitter, locked her young son in the trunk of her car (He's now in foster care).

I guess it's something to be thankful for, on this early Thanksgiving morning�My biological mother couldn't take care of me, but at least she gave me up rather than kill me.

So thanks, Mom.

That's a rather catchy line in the book Monster, by former L.A. gang member "Monster" Kody Scott (He's got a Muslim name now, but I can't remember what it is).

I'm not ready to run off and join the "Bloods" or the "Crips" anytime soon, but I think the reason I responded to the "catchiness" of that line is that I've been guilty of "misdirected rage in the form of retarded resistance" on any number of occasions.

Like the last couple days in here, for example...

For one human being to love another: That is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all the other work is but preparation.

�Rainer Marie Rilke�

Good night.

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