The whole Trump thing (no, not that one - the recent one)

Considering the sheer number of ridiculous statements the man makes, this may become a continuing entry, but for now...

I don't understand the outrage over Meryl Streep's speech at the Golden Globes. Once you get past the "look at us privileged people from humble beginnings" introduction, the content is quite elegant and hard to argue against.

(1) Primary message: be empathetic and compassionate to others, especially if you are in a position of power and the other is not.

(2) Secondary message: the press is accountable to the truth only, not to authority.
(3) Tertiary message: diversity matters.

I think if you showed somebody a transcript with the name removed, or even just talked about the actual content of the speech, they would be hard-pressed to say those are controversial messages.

So... why the "controversy"?

She never mentioned Trump by name, and I don't think anyone could justifiably call what she said "an attack"... There was no defamatory statement about Mr Trump. She said she was disgusted by his flagrant mocking of a disabled reporter, and that led into the statement on empathy. Again... why the controversy?

There's this implication that Hollywood is out of touch with "the common man," that liberal elites should "shut up and [do whatever they're paid to do]" rather than comment on politics... but Hollywood has been out of touch for a long time, so that's not the issue. And telling someone to not talk about something because you don't like what they're saying is just a childish thing to say - they can say anything, just as you can say anything in response.

One of the pillars of our democracy is that nobody is above scrutiny. Obama caught a lot of flak over his eight years - some of it deserved, some of it not. Would you have been just as outraged if Streep had been talking about him? If so, then you should look at your own biases.

What's more troubling in my mind is Trump's response... Because, really, who cares what Meryl Streep has to say? Even if she had outright insulted him or gone on this lengthy tirade, her statements are not going to affect anybody or anything. They're getting attention, but they'll be forgotten soon enough. Trump, however, will soon take office as the most powerful man in the world, and what was his response? To belittle her directly, and then go on the defensive to justify himself as right about months-old statements referring to a story about 9/11, all of which have proven false.

So, if Streep bugged you that much, or you're just generally outraged by the Hollywood elite, some suggestions...

(1) Take a breath. There are a lot of outspoken liberals involved in the movie-making process. But there are conservatives as well. It's everyone's right to say whatever they please.

(2) Boycott Meryl Streep. If it's that big a deal, don't watch her movies.

(3) Boycott Hollywood. Again - if you feel so strongly, do something about it. If you hate uppity liberal Hollywood and how much money they have and blah blah blah... then just don't give them money. Done.