Monday, January 11, 2010

JR Weighs In on Celebrity Extortion


JR--front man of The Septimus Orion Project (and formerly of NJ's legendary horror-punk act Rosemary's Babies) offers us some ideas on how to treat celeb-sucking bottom feeders:

Extorting celebrities seems to me to be an offensive act of desperation. It is an attack on individuals who usually do nothing more than entertain the public. Committing that evil sin brings them healthy paychecks, and the envy of many. As horrific as it is in itself, it seems to me to be even more insidious on a deeper level.

I think of it as an attack on a system that permits financial gain based on personal achievement. Value exchange is a fundamental component of the free market. Someone develops their talent and skill, then provides what others want. When creepy slime balls rise up to loot the earnings of celebrities, they are looting the riches built upon individual freedom. They are exploiting a system that enables the self-made, the entrepreneur. Extortionists are barren thieves whose actions undermine those aspects of our lives that give us hope. Moreover, their selfish, stupid acts are based on the fact that great things are achieved by imperfect human beings. As such, the extortionist wants us to be ashamed of our humanity, and despises a world where others can act where they themselves are impotent. They detest those who rise despite their flaws. They want not only to steal money, they want to steal glory, attention and power.

I have a suggestion. Jail time is not always the best answer to a crime, so lets get creative. Since greed is a human failing, let's mete out justice based on that fact. I think extortionists should be stripped of their rights, rendered incapable of working in their chosen fields, or even of getting menial jobs. They should be made slaves, working for food and shelter only. This way, they can know what it is like to suffer for being human. --JR

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