Ethan Carter III Forced Me to Stop Being a Michael Bennett Hater

Posted: July 16, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
7/16/2014

My personal taste in professional wrestling and professional wrestlers leans towards a faced passed, aggressive, technical, high impact maneuver style (both in wrestler and match style). Neither Ethan Carter III (picture above to the left) or Michael Bennett (picture above to the right) fit with what I listed, and that’s not just fine, it’s good for pro wrestling.

As I have grown up I’ve become less dogmatic when it comes to personal taste, especially when it comes to personal taste in entertainment based subjects. In my adolescence I would have been the smarkiest, snarkiest Mike Bennett hater on the internet. But that is when I was naïve enough to think my personal taste and opinions deserved to be conformed to by the outside world.

For the longest time I didn’t understand why Mike Bennett was on the ROH roster, then I learned he was dating and later married to former WWE Diva and Playboy Playmate Maria Kanellis. The increased attention and publicity someone like her could bring to ROH if she was associated with it explained why they would bring him in, but not why they would keep him for years.

Michael Bennett is completely different from anyone else on the ROH roster. He is very much a look based, body guy. He gets heat from the jealously of male wrestling fans, or as they’re most commonly known, wrestling fans. It is hard to get heat on the independent pro wrestling scene. This is because the wrestlers are usually trying to get pops from the crowd via high spots or are so untalented, they get booed for being bad at their chosen profession. There have been several matches that I have seen in person where Mike Bennett deserved to get booed for not having the talent to deserve the spot in the company he was/is in.

But he has grown, he has improved, he has evolved. ROH has shown confidence in Bennett in 2014 (notably allowing him a high-profile one on one match against the most popular wrestler in Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi at War of the Worlds in May). Bennett is now going to be representing ROH on a tour of Japan and he has earned it. How? Certainly not for being a skilled technician in the ring. Bennett gets heat, and heat is what draws money in pro wrestling, not high spots. If high spots drew money, then ROH and WWE would have opposite financial standings.

Ironically, Michael Bennett did nothing to make me see this. It was only after Ethan Carter III (formerly Derrick Bateman in NXT) debuted in TNA earlier this year and had a string of what I thought were very impressive matches did I realize that I had been judging Bennett completely wrong. I read so much anti Carter/Bateman talk on the internet it completely threw me off, I thought he was very entertaining. The words used to describe EC3 were essentially the same words I used to describe Bennett.

Guys who are more about look than technical proficiency always have had and always will have a spot in professional wrestling. EC3 and Bennett are much more technically proficient than many body guys that have come before them but many fans don’t see/realize this, why? John Cena obviously.

Hahaha, it’s all Cena’s fault. You’ll notice that there is not much text below this, so a long anti Cena rant is NOT coming. But with Cena being over exposed and over pushed for now over a decade based on him being a body guy, the fan base that watches pro wrestling as their dominant form of consumed entertainment, is not just tired of Cena, but of all body guys…Bootista anyone?

EC3 and Bennett are not to be confused for Bret Hart or AJ Styles, nor would they contend they should be. If one can look past the fact that both men are in better physical shape and are better looking than they are, they will see two young professional wrestlers who love the business, respect the business, and want to become better at their craft.

I can see the effort and improvement in both of them every time I see their matches and/or promos. If a person can’t, they are letting emotion and bias be fuel for negative emotion directed towards them…which means that both EC3 and Bennett are doing their jobs.

 

Poisoning the #Water for 300,000 is Worth $11,000

Posted: July 16, 2014 in Frackishima
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by @anarchyroll
7/15/2014

Did you know you could poison the drinking water for 300,000 people and the only penalty you’ll face will be an $11,000 fine?

Freedom Industries is the company responsible for the West Virgina Chemical Spill that took place in January. 10,000 gallons of the chemical MCHM (used in coal production) spilled into a river that was the main source of fresh drinking water for 300,000 civilians in West Virgina across nine counties in the western part of the state. They have been fined $11,000 by the Labor Department of the federal government.

Freedom Industries has since filed for bankruptcy, and a bill regulating chemical tanks has been passed in the wake of the spill. But $11,000 as a penalty for leaving 300,000 people without drinkable water for ten days?

My attention is pulled towards stories that involve mass poisoning of fresh water. A vast minority of the amount of water on planet Earth is drinkable. We can’t survive as a species without fresh water. Yet we seem content with having the essence of life poisoned at a rate that could be classified as habitual and doing virtually nothing about it. What does that say about us?

Poisoning the essence of life should at least carry a penalty similar to a DUI. I know people who have gotten DUI’s who have had to pay more than $11,000 when it was all said and done. Is drinking and driving a vehicle on an empty road in the middle of the night worse than poisoning water for 300,000 people?

40 people were sent to the hospital from drinking or simply being exposed to the contaminated water. If I did something that sent 40 people to the hospital, would I not face a penalty more severe than an $11,000 fine?

There is no law without order and no order without law. If people can get away with stealing, murder, and rape then it has been shown throughout history that people will murder, steal, and rape vastly more than if there are immediate and severe consequences for those evil actions.

I certainly classify poisoning water as an evil action, do you?

If we continue to let companies and corporations break the law without having to worry about the consequences everyday people have to worry about, why do we think they’ll do the right thing and follow the laws/rules? Do we think that for profit corporations will engage in a thought and decision-making process in a way that is evolved beyond human nature?

The Supreme Court has said that corporations are people. If companies and corporations are people, then shouldn’t we  punish them for hurting people the way we punish individuals for hurting people?

 

 

Wage Stagnation is the Silent Killer of #Economic Equality

Posted: July 15, 2014 in Excess and Algorithms
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by @anarchyroll
7/14/2014

Wages have not kept up with inflation or the consumer price index for over thirty years. That is what is meant when you hear people talk about wage stagnation.

As long as wages remain stagnant compared to how much stuff costs there will never be a fully robust economic recovery.

Wage stagnation is why there is currently an all time record high of income inequality in America.

This is why you don’t need a degree in economics to understand why all debates over economic issues in America are made to seem overly complicated on purpose. Because if people were paid more for their time and effort, they could buy more things. But wouldn’t those things then be more expensive? Yes, but people would be making more money. It would be a cycle, kind of like the cycle our economy is on now but less vicious and soul crushing for the generationally poor.

You’ve heard about class warfare between the 1% of earners who possess more wealth than the other 99% of earners in the country, right? That is the heart of the Occupy Wall Street movements and protests. Why is there such a gap in income equality? Why is there class warfare? Why is there a sentiment that the “game” that is the US economy is rigged and the American Dream is dead? The underlying cause/answer is wage stagnation.

Wage stagnation is not an accident, it has been done very much on purpose for almost half a century. The haves don’t want to pay the have-nots an honest salary for their honest work and have been allowed to get away with it. The 1% could make the choice to pay their workers more. But other than it being the right thing to do, why? After all, paying the masses a living wage would mean less one-percenters could afford private yachts, jets, and islands.

Wage stagnation is tied directly to the rise in consumer debt (people use credit to pay for necessities they don’t have the money to have because they don’t get paid enough), student loan debt (parents and students need to take loans because they don’t get paid enough to pay for college tuition), and mortgage debt (not being paid enough to afford a home). Being able to afford a home is the center piece of the American Dream. To afford property, not simply to achieve financial prosperity as many would have you believe.

Until wage stagnation is addressed and done away with, very little else matters in terms of turning around America’s economy for 99% of the population. To deny this is to deny reality, or be apart of the minority of the population that is benefiting from the system as it is currently constructed. There is no gray area or in between.

A living wage is the only humane solution to this problem. But traditionally, humanity and the American economy don’t always go hand in hand. The fierce resistance to paying a living wage in America is only the most recent example.

The Simple But Not Easy #Pardaox

Posted: July 14, 2014 in Stimulus Space Response
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ssrlogo2ajclogo2by @anarchyroll
7/13/2014

Life is simple but not easy.

A paradox that confuses and confounds more human beings than those who have a grasp on it. Identifying problems is simple, enacting solutions is not easy.

I am aware of most of my flaws, shortcomings, and failures but taking the corrective action I know that I need to take is difficult at the highest level. Becoming aware was simple, taking action has not been easy.

I have been amazed at how hard enacting solutions has been in my personal development. I see my errors and/or am aware when I am taking a step backwards, failing, etc but it is as if there is an invisible hand metaphorically holding me in place, holding me in a script of stagnant, repetitive, counter productive decisions and/or actions.

I think there are a lot of people who can relate. I don’t look at myself as some kind of uniquely cursed wannabe martyr. I believe an overwhelming number of human beings struggle with self mastery. Finding the balance between patience and hustle can be tricky.

Paradigms die hard and shift slow. Traditionally change is slow and gradual. But the ego/shadow or the part of yourself that doesn’t want to change will use the truth of slow change, as an excuse and justification for not taking action in the moments of choice.

To be a coward when courage is required. I have run against this sticking point which at times feels like bouncing off a brick wall. How to move past this? Identifying that is simple:

  • Persistence of effort
  • Boldness and trust in the face of adversity and the unknown
  • Pushing through the pain period

That is what is required, that I know.

How to enact those principles, tactics, and techniques when my mind is racing or blank, my breathing is short, my stomach is in knots, and/or my limbs are shaky? Well, that’s hard, but nothing worth having comes easy. And self-mastery and living life as the best version of myself is certainly worth having.

 

Finally a How To Manual in #Mastery of Skills and of Self

Posted: July 12, 2014 in Stimulus Space Response
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by @anarchyroll
7/11/2014

Robert Green is never afraid to tackle the subjects that are so big and ubiquitous that they are more often worried about than talked about.

Mastery like The 48 Laws of Power that came before it, can fall under the category of practical life instruction manual. If you want to know how to get from where you are to where you want to be, in regards to what you dedicate your life to.

Using mini biographies of multiple historical figures from hundreds of years ago, to a hundred years ago, to modern-day masters of their craft(s), Greene uses his storytelling ability to show how anyone can be the next Albert Einstein or Freddie Roach.

The beauty of the book is the same place where the devil is, in the details. The book does it’s part to kill the concept of the magic pill (the mythical thing that will shortcut us to where we want to be without any of the hard work or sacrifice).

Although natural gives, talent, charisma, etc is acknowledged it takes a distant backseat to the hard work, time, and sacrifice each figure of study committed to becoming the legends they are known as. The book teaches many lessons of life that should be mandatory in public schools, especially for adolescents. But, there are more than the lions share of adults living their life in a waking daze, who would benefit immensely from reading this book.

Applying sweat equity to natural gifts and desire is the way to success. Patience, perseverance, and personal boundaries must be exercised along the way. Learning from those who came before you, as well as those who are considered better than you by your peers is a valuable resource, as long as you use the knowledge to improve yourself, and evolve that which you wish to do with your life. There are no shortcuts, but you must seize opportunities of fortune that come your way and maximize the potential of the moment to maximize your personal potential.

Mastery like all of Greene’s work is not a quick or easy read, which is appropriate. Because to attain knowledge and mastery (no pun intended) of the subjects he writes about, quickness and easiness have no place near attaining the information Greene writes about and shares with the world.

No matter what your passion in life is, reading Mastery will help you become better at it. The information in the book is principle based as opposed to tactic/technique based. Consuming then applying the information in this book can help make you not just a better worker or a better person, but can bring you vastly closer to being your best self, and not just doing what you want with your life, but it can lead you down the path of being the best at it.

I recommend reading Mastery or in my case, listening to the audio book, wholeheartedly because it is everything that is right about the personal development/self-help movement, mindset, and book genre.

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