Piggy.

In the 1963 film adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies there is a scene that always turns my stomach.

When I was thin, clean-shaven and in my third-year of uni, I read something about this film that disturbed me deeply.  It's so uncomfortable, that when my thirteen year old daughter agreed to watch it last night, we opted for the colourized 1990 version.  Thankfully the actors in the modern take remain fully clothed and I avoid elephants in rooms.

In the story, the marooned boys, having in a short time devolved into war-painted savages, swarm a wild sow and kill it mercilessly with spears they have fashioned from branches.  At this point in the story, the mob has begun to take hold of the island, its bloodlust growing.

This is not what bothers me.

In the black and white version of this film, while the boys were in a manic and frenzied stabby-krieg, something happened that changed everything.  When director yelled 'cut', the actors, most not more than twelve-years-old, did not stop attacking.  It's rumoured that the crew had to pull the boys off of the pig. 

These were paid actors, under lights. 

On set, life had imitated art.

Golding, whose novel used to be required reading in middle-schools everywhere seems more of a handbook of human behaviour. The mob can react to anything at anytime.  All we needs is to smell a little blood and presto, we're all on-board.


Ghomeshi-gate is in full-swing in Canada. The uncomfortable revelations and disgusting tidbits of his sexual penchants, his pro-feminist deceit of his on-air persona, and the quick and savage dismemberment of this once-popular infotainment host, seems to have obfuscated any discussion of real news. Why I'm aware of his misuse of stuffed-animals is a mystery.  He is a pariah to be sure, having been distanced from anyone to have ever aligned themselves with him. With this distance, his once-friends and associates are speaking loudly, conveniently getting a little press in the process.

A hippie printmaker has made a t-shirt with Ghomeshi's face and has written 'asshole' underneath.  This feckless opportunist claims to be donating the proceeds of these shirts to women's shelters, but his long, pale, myopic face belies the point.  He's in the spotlight, his business may be up a few percent this month and his popularity with the ladies may increase.

Step out of the way fool.  Part of the issue at hand is that a man, who touted women's rights, ultimately did so for the spotlight.

Ironies abound.

It's probably all true.  He's probably a degenerate. For the media to suggest that he's not actually being charged with anything would be highly unpopular.  Yes, it deserved some real estate in the newspaper but there are other things afoot.   Simply, his crucifixion overshadows the real issue of violence against women.  Are we raising boys who perpetuate the problem? Is the government funding shelters properly or should we rely on protein-deficient printmakers?  These questions are b-rolled in print. 

Tax-funded CF-18's are dropping five hundred pound bombs right now. Warmists are prophesying CO2 doomsday.  Russian tanks rolling into the Ukraine.  The 25th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall, heavens-to-betsy.  There are more important things to discuss than some has-been musician, some self-aggrandized media mouthpiece with no actual star-quality.

Even if we were to focus on eliminating violence against women in this country, there seems to be a delineation between what women deserve the help.   The RCMP released information that over 1200 aboriginal women in Canada are missing and murdered.  What does that say?

Sadly it says, preferring to stick the pig, the herd has spoken.

CBC's most famous deceiver and pervert du-jour, remains at the top of the list if you google "news".

Until the next drop of blood.