Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Yeah, man.

 So, a little insight into how I handle the Actual Paying Work. Don't worry, this is relevant. The Bossman assigns me however many pieces for the month maybe the second week. Usually what I do is read the info he gives me, if any, and then do an hour or two of research on my own. Finally, writing then a quick once over read, followed by an edit then another the next morning.

 I used to be able to write stories for the newspaper for 10-12 hours in a row with rarely a break, but I can't do that anymore. Seriously, one 1,000-word piece does a number on me. It's part of the reason I've decided to do my fun writing in the morning. Anyhow, yesterday I had two pieces, and by the time I finished the first and took a break, the story about the possible poisoning of some NYPD officers at a Shake Shack was making the rounds. People - that is conservatives and other forms of authority worshipers - were calling for some poor working-class bastard's head on a pike. And usually, these are the "wait until all the info comes in before making a judgement" whenever a cop kills some black guy for shopping at Wal-Mart.

 By the time I got the second piece done, however - and it was barely midnight - it had come out that an "investigation" was done and, turns out, there was no malicious poisoning aforethought. Apparently, an improperly cleaned shake machine was the culprit. No charges were filed, no cops were poisoned, and no heads were cracked. I'm going to be very generous here and say this wasn't like the situation where the cop thought someone took a bite out of his burger but it turns out he just forgot he did. Nor am I comparing it to the cop who wrote "Pig" on his receipt and tried to blame it on the cashier. And I'm not going to compare it to the many times the police or law enforcement officials have been caught walking back claims or outright lying these last couple of weeks of protesting.

 Things are tense, especially in New York City and the fuzz there don't have the best record when dealing with the public or, for that matter, showing exceptional reasoning skills. It could have very well been an honest mistake and overzealous police, and we're all just lucky and thankful it didn't spiral out of control. Of course, the police could've been lying for whatever reason and trying to get back at Shake Shack for supporting Black Lives Matter. I'm not saying that's why, mind you. I'm just saying, hey... it's a possibility and one that makes more sense than a minimum-wage worker actively trying to poison a police officer in such a clumsy, easily traceable manner, particularly a cop from a police force known for indulging in a bit of the old extra violence from time to time. Let's face it, the burden of proof is always on New York's Finest and they have long since pissed away the benefit of the doubt.

 So the day was already Dumb before it got good and started. Apparently, the quality journalists at Fox News are still pushing the poisoning lie, though I doubt that comes as a surprise to anyone. I know I shouldn't be but I'm always a bit shocked at how blood-thirsty and prone to authority worship conservatives reveal themselves to be on Twitter. Sure, it's a lot of talk and as much hot air as not, but people do have a sense of freedom online to say stuff that'd get their jaws slapped in real life. More than a few are letting us into their head space, and it is not a pleasant place to be.

 I think I'm going to tie this off, finish up my APW, and call it a day. I've set up a Patreon if you feel inclined to toss me a few bucks. Hey, ya never know.

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