Rob’s World (Are We Just Living in It?)

So the morning after the most recent allegations of drug use and other possible criminal behaviour swirl tighter around him, eliciting the main question of why Rob Ford isn’t more than simply ‘known by the police’, the mayor blithely (and excitedly it sounds like) calls in to a Washington DC radio sports show called… wait for it, wait for it… The Sports Junkies, to talk football predictions.

What fucking world does this man inhabit?

I’ve narrowed it down to two.

The first is a place where Rob Ford is much, much dumber than anyone can imagine. In this world, the height of engineering wonder is that the man manages to get his pants on by himself each day. A place so dumbed-down, so flattened of expectation, that any dummy, and I mean any dummy, can not only survive but prosper.

This we’ll call Grimeyville.

The other possibility is that someone like Rob Ford has never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, ever, never, never, never, never, never, ever, ever, never, never had to face the consequences of what he says or does. Never, ever, never, ever.

This is a world where people like Rob Ford can say whatever shit it is that comes into their thick head without having to justify or defend it. There is no social, ethical or empathy filter attached anywhere. It’s just, blurt, brain fart and paraphrasing something my daddy said. Verbal vomit. Just one word after another with no connection or context between them.

Nobody calls him on anything he says. Those that do are nothing more than the usual suspects. Liberals. Intellects. Downtowners. Football haters.

In this world, someone like Rob Ford can also do whatever it is he wants without facing any repercussions. Maybe today the mayor obliviously goes about his business in the face of these new outrageous allegations about his behaviour because this is what he always does when such allegations arise. Just keeps on keeping on. Claim all of it’s just one big lie by people out to get him and move on. Issue an empty apology if a denial no longer holds up in the face of evidence, the past is the past, que sera sera, let’s all just move forward.

Rob Ford will not do what’s right because Rob Ford has never been compelled to do what’s right in the face of his transgressions. Why start now? If he’s never been held to account for his actions, why would we expect him to react like somebody who actually has?

This, in all likelihood, is the world Rob Ford lives in, although, I think, there’s an intermingling of the two. Stupidity is bred where the connection between cause and effect is not thoroughly taught, where you can continue to do stupid things and never pay the price for your stupidity. A certain sense of privilege will sprout up from a feeling immunity or invulnerability. It’s a mix of Alfred E. Neuman What Me Worry? unawareness with an entitled arrogance that all the morality tales we grow up with warn us will be our undoing. A Mad hubris, let’s call it.

This must end badly for the mayor.

If it doesn’t, it means his world supersedes ours. That some of the tenets most of us were raised with, the notions of equality, fairness, justice, aren’t applicable to everyone. Your status based on position, money, race, gender, will dictate how much you adhere to the laws and societal norms you inhabit.

Of course, only the most doey-eyed would believe that isn’t the world we live in now. But at least we make the pretense of setting limits on just how egregious such deviant behaviour can be before it’s nipped in the bud. I think it’s safe to say that limit has been exceeded in the case of Rob Ford. In one way or another, he has to answer for his actions beyond just a shrug and forced mouthing of regret.

Otherwise, there’s a whole systemic breakdown of order we have to face up to that goes far beyond one man’s misconduct. It’s no longer just Rob Ford behaving badly. We are.

— sourly submitted by Cityslikr