Would you cry if I said I'd lied?

  You know, I had the whole shpiel worked out. I was going to rant and rave about the latest iteration on "cancel culture," specifically how it's not actually a thing much less a significant threat to life in these United States. I was going to go off on how you have to actively deny reality in order to stay outraged and how maybe - just maybe - some things and people deserved to be "canceled," or rather deal with the consequences of their actions and words.

 But by the time I got home and sat down and then took a walk with Otis and laid down for a bit of a nap after reading and listening to Little Walter, I found I just didn't care anymore. Of course, I am referring to the recent kerfuffle surrounding Dr. Seuess and, to a lesser extent, the Potato Head and Muppets controversy. Just for posterity's sake, conservatives are losing their goddamn minds about the three.

 The Seuss people decided to pull six of his books from publication due to racist content, and yes it is extremely racist, while Hasbro decided to stop calling the sets "Mr. Potato Head" and "Mrs. Potato Head" but nothing else. As for the Muppets, whatever streaming service was broadcasting "The Muppet Show" wanted to add a disclaimer to a couple of shows where the humor might a bit too risque for the children watching a show that was originally intended for an adult audience anyway.

 And of course, all that is being twisted into a conspiracy by socialists to ruin America because conservatives are not only stupid and gullible, they're also too lazy to fact check their claims of impending doom. I've even read where Joe Biden is supposed to be directly responsible for the Dr. Seuss business, which was actually decided by the people who represent Theodore Geisel's heirs. The other two are decisions by massive corporations who made these moves to protect their bottom line.

 Look, y'all, "cancel culture" is not a thing. No one forced Disney or Hasbro to do anything and both are rich enough if that they really believed they were being "bullied," they could tell protestors to go skip rope. The only person I can think of who's actually been "canceled" and pretty much removed from the public scene is Michael Richardson. After he went on that weird racist tirade during a stand-up appearance, he pretty much dropped off the radar. "Seinfeld" is still on the air, as far as I know.

 Even Bill Maher and the Dixie Chicks made comebacks, mainly because theirs was mostly reactionary pants wetting itself. Louie C.K. is receiving standing ovations at his Las Vegas shows. Mel Gibson still makes movies. Their star may not shine as brightly, but tough shit, you did awful stuff so suck it up, buttercup. The Earth rolls on, and society doesn't owe to you to remain static.

 Well, damn, I guess I went into the rant anyway. Ah, well, it is what it is. I broke down and bought Star Control: Origins out of a Humble Bundle yesterday. Apparently, Stardock and the original creators have made peace and the former isn't shitting all over the latter anymore. It's all right, basically an upgrade of Star Control II without the original names of the aliens. Or so far, anyway, I'm told it changes after a bit. I should take another whack at Star Control II. It's a good game but it gets above me fairly easily.

 Okay, that's plenty. It's late and I'm tired and, frankly, I just don't give a shit. It bothers me sometimes that my initial reaction to far too much of the national Zeitgeist is "fuck it, let it burn."