Lack of Perspective

Two issues so absurd came to light this week despite the fact that both are easily reconciled with reality.  That they come on the heals of all gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over Prince's death comes as no surprise.  I just shake my head and wonder where our perspective has gone.

The first and least relevant -- although to determine which is least relevant is quite the chore -- is the outpouring of support and/or grief that Michael Strahan has decided to leave the Kelly & Michael Show (I think that's what it's called, at least) which, to the uninitiated, is a weekday morning talkfest that caters to stay-at-home moms and those of us unfortunate enough to home sick without cable television.  I've only caught snippets of it, which is an outgrowth of Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee, which morphed into Live! With Regis and Kelly, which in turn became Live! With Kelly and Michael after Regis hung it up. 

Apparently, Mr. Strahan had taken a full-time gig with Good Morning America unbeknownst to Kelly Ripa and waited until after a show last week to inform her of his decision.  Ms. Ripa flew into a huff and took some days off for an allegedly scheduled vacation with her husband.  Then she returned in full glory to public acclaim and played Norma Desmond to her adoring audience.  Mr. Strahan did and said all the proper things for public consumption, but apparently that wasn't enough.  I guess there's some protocol that says that in the entertainment industry, prior notification to one's co-workers is necessary in order to take another job.

I know that when I leave for another job, I don't consult my co-workers.  This notion that prior consultation is necessary is foreign to me.  Apparently, however, it's enough of an issue that it caused a kerfuffle that when Ms. Ripa walked onto the set this morning, the audience gave her a standing ovation, with Mr. Strahan joining in.  Perceived slight or not, this is ridiculous.  I'm shocked that anyone gives this much of a damn.

Then there's the idiot ex-professor at the University of Missouri who was fired after video of her asking for muscle to remove a student photojournalist from a rally late last year and after another video showed her shouting profanities at a police officer.  A newspaper actually did a profile on the lunatic wherein she claimed that her firing was due to racial politics.

The woman is white.

"I'm a white lady.  I'm an easy target."

So if I understand this correctly, she was fired by the University for defending black people because she's white.  Or an easy target.  Or both.

"Am I going to be one of those people who stands and watches another brutal moment against black people, or am I going to step in and make sure they’re safe?”  she asked rhetorically (I think).

(It should be mentioned that this woman looks like Carrot Top's fraternal twin from whom he was separated at birth. That's catty, I know, but I can't ignore it.)

But by far the best justification for her errors, if they can be called that, is her assertion that "Black people love me."

Yes, people, that's the perspective she has that allows her to bully student journalists and scream at cops, despite the fact that the student journalist's rights are protected under the First Amendment and the video shows no abuse by the police.

Even so, there's one more level of juiciness to this pancake of perspective:  The woman is an ex-professor of journalism.

You just can't make this stuff up.

(c) 2016 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles