2021. Who would want to be young now?! Thank God, I grew up when I did; when families were the backbone of society and, from that key nucleus, emanated a framework of standards and morals. No technology, sedentary lifestyles, fast foods and obesity but, rather, direct communication, exercise, home-cooked meals and health – physical and mental! Interaction was a part of everyday life and that included eating together, speaking to each other and watching family-orientated TV programmes, together! No TVs and computers in bedrooms encouraging isolation and the downward spiral into self … Self? Life wasn’t all about self, once; the quest for the unattainable, shallow perfection gleaned from the internet; the constant comparison with others, never happy with one’s lot. Self-worth is a thing of the past but the removal of ‘worth’ has enabled the emergence of ‘woke’, damaging in the extreme, despite the absurdity of the word, itself! ‘Woke’ is nothing more than the vehicle of the victim culture; those who are immersed in negativity, consumed by grievance and whose ‘worth’ has been devoured by a screen. One would regard it as tragic if it were contained; however, the Tyranny of Tolerance, which has emerged in recent years, has ensured the increasing rampage of this minority culture, uncurtailed. Advance to Go and Collect £200!
That horrible little word, ‘woke’ is becoming increasingly ubiquitous – on a par with my depleted level of tolerance! Only yesterday, I got rid of some of my scribbled notes pertaining to topics of great relevance and interest – but, of course – and one such piece of earth-shattering information, deserving of comment, was apropos the giant box office cinematic smash, ‘Grease’. Released in 1978 – oh, those summer nights – it remains one of the most popular and highest grossing musicals of all time and is, frequently, shown on our television screens. Thus it was, this Christmas but, apparently, not to everyone’s liking. Oh, help. Brace oneself!
‘GREASE IS THE WORD. Grease slammed as ‘rapey, racist and homophobic and should never be shown on TV again’ by woke snowflakes.’
The heading of an article, penned by Eve Wagstaff, in The Sun, dated 3 January, 2021.
It continues, ‘… in light of the #metoo movement, Black Lives Matter and LGBTQIA rights and awareness, lots of viewers felt it no longer has a place in today’s TV schedule.’
Silly me! Why didn’t I realise that the above run the world?! Aside from the fact that I had to copy and paste the ‘LGBTQIA’ denotation as I hadn’t a hope of remembering, let alone understanding the combination of letters (I had only just got to grips with the ‘LGBTQ+’ version), how dare they make such utterly ridiculous demands?! This is a feelgood, happy film full of colour and wonderful music which stands the test of time. It brings joy – repeatedly – to millions. Why don’t these miserable, attention-seeking, sad individuals try watching it like everybody else; lose themselves? Not a chance for they are fixated on themselves and their own negativity which they feel compelled to inflict on the world. Thus, while you and I wallow in the escapism afforded by sunshine, youth, friendship, love, a happy ending and classic songs, they see the Drive-in scene as being ‘a bit rapey’, the school dance demonstrating homophobia – ‘All couples must be boy/girl? Well, Grease, shove your homophobia’ – and the entire film, racist, with one commenting: ‘Watched Grease on the BBC, surprised they let it go, full of white people.’! If that’s ‘woke’, in their own language, they can shove it! In fact, better still, don’t watch it! Apparently, goes over their heads, anyway …
Now, as I mentioned, I had binned my notes apropos Grease. However – no, I didn’t go through the bin to retrieve them – on bearing witness to the lunchtime news, today, I had reason to reconsider my decision. Home Alone 2. That is why! Apparently, there is a petition to remove Donald Trump’s cameo appearance in the 1992 film citing it, among other things, as a ‘racist stain’ and claiming it ‘ruins holiday cheer’! Did I miss something? Is the pandemic over?!
No! This is utterly ridiculous! Who are these people? Do they have a life?! Well, I concede, none of us does, as of now, but … What is to be achieved by cutting a ten second appearance in a film of almost thirty years ago? Donald Trump owned The Plaza, at the time, and was a prominent business man of celebrity status. End of! Of course, the director, now, claims that Trump ‘bullied his way into the scene’ but isn’t that just the ‘woke’ thing to say? Personally, I refuse to jump on that bandwagon. Interestingly, though, the, now, 40-year-old Macaulay Culkin has shown his support for the petition by tweeting the word, ‘SOLD’. Disappointed. Even more so, in light of the fact that the very same Macaulay Culkin was unswerving in his support of Michael Jackson! Anyone recall Leaving Neverland: Michael Jackson and Me? The 2019 documentary focused on the testimonies of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two young boys who, tragically, proved sacrificial offerings to the star courtesy of their mothers. Revealing the true horror that was Michael Jackson and his sordid life behind the facade, none who watched could question the abuse suffered by these boys at his hand. (Trish-Trash – 8th March, 2019).
Michael Jackson will, forever, be remembered as a musical genius; an icon. His music is still played, his memory, seemingly, untainted by his sordid life and the multitude of lawsuits he, successfully, ‘defended’ – or ‘dodged’! People don’t want to believe the truth and, thus, the world chooses to ignore. Meanwhile, we shall never, again, hear ‘Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again (Gary Glitter) played on the radio and there are calls for Donald Trump’s 5-second cameo in a thirty-year-old film to be removed! Don’t start me on Bill Clinton … Now, there is one revolting man! (If you didn’t see it at the time, look for The Clinton Affair, a six-part series shown on More4 in early 2019. Seriously Good!, Wednesday, 13th February 2019). Obviously, great television in early 2019 …
One sees that which one chooses to see. One believes that which one chooses to believe. Such is the injustice of life.
‘Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.’
Voltaire.
This is Trish, signing off.
… and I ran out of time to write about the idiocy of our Christmas Bin Collection! Oh, well, it’ll keep!
