If looks could kill, it would be us instead of him.

 Ugh. I should've written this last night. I had fire and vinegar last night, when today's just a bunch of sludge. Unfortunately, I stayed up too late getting some Actual Paying Work and rescuing humanity from the boot heel of genocidal alien invaders, and here we are.

 And though I need my nap, we're going to try to squeeze this out, if truncated. I have some more APW to get done before tomorrow, and I'm still trying this morning thing. Even though it's almost three in the afternoon.

 Anyhow. There is definitely something in the air right now. As a Twitter mutual said, we appear to be in the middle of a thing. HBOMax pulled Gone With the Wind from its streaming service after a letter from 12 Years A Slave screenwriter John Ridley. NASCAR announced the Confederate Flag will no longer be allowed at its races and events. Country trio Lady Antebellum changed its name to "Lady A", admitting the connotations of the old name were, at the very least, in very poor taste.

 All of this seems to be fairly organic. Ridley's letter was less an "outcry" and more of "hey, notice this and think about it". Of course, conservatives are losing their minds over all of this, all of which seems to be decisions made by the corporations or individuals. They're less interested in "cultural sensitivity" and more interested in "not hurting our continuing profit" from what I can tell.

 I'm going to be honest, I really don't believe most if any of the clowns rending their garments over the GWTW business have given the movie that much thought before yesterday's announcement. Frankly, I doubt many of them have ever sat through the thing, and they're knowledge is all pop culture references and memes. I refuse to believe any of them read the original novel by Margaret Mitchell.

 This isn't the place to critique the quality or cultural importance of the movie or the book. Personally, I think it's overrated and benefited greatly from the circumstances in Hollywood at the time. Nor is it necessary to discuss whether it has racism in it. It does. It's a movie that glamorizes the "Lost Cause" and Antebellum South, of course it has racism in it. You dopes.

 But what is worth discussing is whether or not this counts as "censorship," and I really don't understand how it does. The individuals made this decision, motivated solely by profit. The government didn't force them to, nor was the pressure from outside forces really all that great. This is something HBOMax decided was best for their bottom line, and if you think entertainment entities care about anything but their bottom line, then there's nothing I can do for you.

 HBOMax, NASCAR, Lady A, and whoever else made these decisions because they know which way the wind's blowing. We're in our second week of protests sparked by George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police. The anger, frustration and desire for change in our culture has grown. The oppression of black people by the white status quo is still and should remain the key focal point. But we can't ignore what else there is, such as displeasure at the authoritarian nature of society and how we're supposed to be thankful that the cops are told to treat us like the enemy. You don't have to be black to see that's a problem.

 And why is there so much pushback from conservatives? Do they care that much about GWTW, art or even "free speech". I don't believe they do, not really. They don't care about the movie or even the Confederate Flag. They don't care about art. They don't even care about "free speech" or "freedom of expression." Not really. If anything's "performative," it's that.

 What they care about is that society is evolving past a point where their opinion was the only one that mattered. They're angry that corporations and businesses are recognizing it makes them more money to change than keep the status quo. They're furious that no one cares if they're angry because, frankly, it really does not matter how angry they are or even if they're angry.

 Americans don't like change. Americans don't really care for admitting that other views matter as much as theirs. But what Americans really, really hate is being told something that makes them consider even the slightest possibility that they might have been - might, just the chance of it existing - wrong.

 As my brother said, "'Am I right or am I right' is the most American thought ever." But the times, they are a-changin'. That's what times do, and no culture stands unmoving like a beetle in amber. If you can come along at least stop trying to make other people change.