THE MASTERMIND
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with little knowledge on the subject opined. Opposing views are welcome but will be
ignored. As always, please no name
calling, and that means you, you big stupid-head!
NOUN: A person with an outstanding intellect.
VERB: Plan and direct an ingenious and complex scheme or enterprise.
Why does the media insist of referring to
the leader of the cowardly massacre in Paris as the “Mastermind?”
Do we have any indication this person is of outstanding or superior intellect?
Were the murders a result of a complex enterprise?
Hmmm as a mastermind, how could I murder
a whole bunch of people? Let’s see, give
me several people who don’t give a crap about their own life, strap explosives
on them and then have them walk into a crowd and blow themselves up. GENIUS!
AND
Give me some other assholes who are in a
hurry to go to heaven and meet their virgins, arm them with assault rifles and
have them just indiscriminately strafe pedestrians and patrons of restaurants. GENIUS!
I’m pretty sure any dope with one eyebrow
and a strap-on beard could devise such a plan.
He need not be someone of outstanding intellect and the plan is not all
that ingenious and complex. Why do we
insist on calling the planners Masterminds and the plan the result of a Mastermind?
Does the media want to glorify these ignorant
backward scumbags?
Is it the intent of the media to make us
all think, “Oh how can we ever defeat these people when they are run by MASTERMINDS?”
Please people in the media, could we stop
saying “The Paris Mastermind is still loose.”
Lex Luthor, Superman’s nemesis, was a Mastermind; The Riddler and the Penguin were Masterminds who tormented Batman, these people are just
murderers of unarmed, unsuspecting, everyday people. Their only motive is to kill and scare. It
does not take superior intellect to do that.
You just take a gun and shoot, or a knife and cut.
Was Lee Harvey Oswald a Mastermind? Was
Charles Manson a Mastermind? Was James
Earl Ray a Mastermind? Was Sirhan SIrhan a Mastermind? How about that post
office nut who took a rifle on a tower and shot people, or those two clowns who
terrorized the Washington area with a high power rifle from the trunk of their
car, or “Jack the Ripper,” were all these people MASTERMINDS?
I think they are just demented ignorant
shitheads.
I would like to see media stop the Mastermind
nonsense and instead announce:
“Paris murdering demented ignorant shithead still at large…news
at eleven!”*
The preceding was the opinion of a cranky old man and not
necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky (Though I’m pretty sure she agrees.)
*Since this was written theMastermind demented ignorant shithead was sent to meet his virgins...I'm guessing he was sincerely disappointed.
*Since this was written the
Amen, Joe!!
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that it's faster to write the word "mastermind" than to say, "the person responsible for planning the attacks." Your way of saying it is fine, but probably won't pass muster for a family newspaper or the evening news.
ReplyDeletePlanner, plotter, coordinator, point man...They all took journalism in school, they know words and they know words matter. The use of Mastermind has connotations that the media intentionally uses to hype these assholes and I do not understand why!
DeleteMaybe it's all relative. Maybe in his world, among his peers, he is the Master Mind in the group. Maybe the others are so devoid of gray matter between their ears (a distinct possibility!) that this shithead seems brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI think "perp" is good.
ReplyDeleteI think your scumbag works just fine. The Paris event was just a setback by the way.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and I had no problem here today. Yay! ☺
I always thought mastermind had negative connotations to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. We need to degrade these morons not glorify them.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they are using Mastermind to suggest he is Master over the minds of all in his group.
ReplyDeleteOh. I see now that Lowandslow already said that.
ReplyDeleteInstigator? We teachers use that, and it does not refer to anything positive. Or smart.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the media try to glorify what the terrorists did. However, the dictionary does define mastermind as "A highly intelligent person, especially one who plans and directs a complex or difficult project." So I agree with you, they should not use this word. I like your other suggestions (the ones you can print in the paper or say on the air).
ReplyDeleteI agree that the fellow was no genius, or within the more standard definitions of 'mastermind'; his only fit is that it has a secondary use as some who is charged with planning something nefarious. Its is a trope, but using it only denotes sloppiness on the part of the media, not some underhanded intent. That's a red herring, used too often by the right wing when they are displeased by coverage in the media.
ReplyDeleteOh, Cranky, I wish you were the news anchor at 6:30. Maybe it wouldn't be as scary.
ReplyDelete