The 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week: Michael Eric Dyson

The 411mania Dumpster Fire of the Week

Hello, everyone, and welcome to The 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week. I’m Bryan Kristopowitz.

Okay, so who does the better “Bottle Cap Challenge,” Jason Statham or Donnie Yen?

Out of the several challenge videos I’ve seen so far, the Statham and Yen videos are the best. Both perform with smooth kicks and send their bottle caps off into God knows where. The great Scott Adkins also did a video, but his wasn’t as smooth (it was awesome, sure, but it wasn’t as elegant as Statham’s or Yen’s).

See what I mean? Points, though, for having the cap hitting the camera.

Now, between Statham and Yen, I’d have to say that Yen’s is more impressive because of the blindfold. Yen’s kick also looks like he’s barely touching the cap. That’s cool as hell. At the same time, Statham’s kick, the first one I saw, was so super badass I didn’t believe it was real.

So, for me, Yen’s is the best, hands down. It will be interesting to see who else tries to do this.

And now onto this week’s Dumpster Fire of the Week.

This week, the 411 Dumpster Fire of the Week goes to Georgetown University professor and frequent MSNBC liberal pundit Michael Eric Dyson, for his recent claim that the Betsy Ross flag is as racist as the Nazi swastika. While appearing on MSNBC with journalist and channel personality Hallie Jackson to discuss the whole controversy regarding Nike putting a Betsy Ross flag on a shoe, Dyson claimed that the Ross flag is offensive and racist because it’s from the Revolutionary War period, several prominent Revolutionary War figures were slave owners, and ultra-right wing racists in the here and now are using the flag to symbolize their own cause. While it’s true that the flag is from the Revolutionary War period and many Revolutionary War figures owned slaves, it’s simply ludicrous to say that the Ross flag must now be consigned to the dustbin of sick history because a bunch of racist assholes are using for their own horrible purposes.

The Betsy Ross flag is a part of actual American history. The only time people ever seem to bring it out and display it prominently is around July 4th, Independence Day. It also shows up around Presidential inaugurations and shit like that. The Ross flag is just something that isn’t a thing for large parts of any given year.

But what about slavery? Isn’t the Betsy Ross flag a symbol of slavery? No, it isn’t a symbol of slavery. Slavery was around when the flag was actually a big deal thing, but that doesn’t make it a symbol of slavery. It’s not the Confederate flag, which is a symbol of slavery. The Betsy Ross flag is a symbol of American independence from colonial rule. That’s what it is. Now, if Dyson and others want to use the Betsy Ross flag as a way to discuss “America’s original sin,” that’s acceptable. American history is messy. That doesn’t mean, by and large, American culture has to take away everything that some people might see as racist. Again, the Betsy Ross flag is something that only really ever comes out for a few days out of the year to celebrate Independence Day. It’s just not a big deal thing at any other point in time.

But what about the racist assholes who are using the Ross flag to further their own sick cause? Doesn’t that matter? Not really. It’s sick, sure, but since you can’t stop them from using the flag (or really any other flag), I wouldn’t get too upset about it. Let them talk. Let them make all the false and terrible claims they want. Use their use of the flag as a way to discuss how America use to be and how we are now. American history is messy and complicated and America has tried to move on. Has America made progress? Yes. Does America still have a shitload of work to do? Absolutely. Is demanding the Betsy Ross flag disappear from public view a good idea because of all of those problems?

Again, no. It’s not the Confederate flag. It is not a Nazi swastika. Dyson should know that, and Dyson should know that it’s stances like his that get used to pummel and ridicule his own liberal ideology and political stances. Dyson will be turned into an example of yet another out of touch liberal elite who doesn’t care about anything but his own elitist whatever. Dyson should know that there are cultural fights worth having, but this isn’t one of them. Please, for the love of God, just move on.

He probably won’t, though. Dyson will likely continue on, making himself and this flag shit a bigger deal than it actually is. It will become an actual issue in the upcoming election, and if the “right answer” isn’t given, “the Left” will be divided even more than it is now, and the other side will win again. How can Dyson not see this?

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And now for this week’s honorable mentions…

–The people complaining about Disney casting Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid, for complaining about Disney casting Halle Bailey in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid. It’s corporate virtue signaling! It’s another example of SJW nonsense running amok! It’s a slap in the face to everyone who grew up with Ariel being white! It’s the end of the world! Of course, Disney’s decision couldn’t have been “The movie is going to be a musical, we need someone who can sing, and Bailey can sing and fits right in our price range for what we’re willing to pay” because, I guess, that would make too much sense. It’s far more plausible that Disney is just engaging in some nefarious social engineering plot to disappear white people like it did with the last Star Wars movie. Jesus Christ, people are fucking stupid.

– Dumpster Fire Hall of Famer, 2018 Dumpster Fire of the Year, and (Jesus Christ) 45th President of the United States Donald Trump, for his July 4th event. While his speech, outside of that “airport” gaffe, was shockingly not partisan (he did take a few shots at the Democrats but the shots were so low wattage and veiled you’d have to be an avid cable news watcher to have even caught them), the whole event seemed rather pointless. The capital already has a big hooha 4th of July celebration with mega fireworks display, does it really need two? Of course it doesn’t. So why do it beyond needing to be the center of attention? I hope this is a one and done thing, but I have a feeling it won’t be.

–D.C. Comics, for cancelling Mad Magazine. Sure, Mad will still technically exist for the time being, as D.C. plans on still selling Mad via subscriptions and at comic book shops and filling up issues with old/”vintage” material, but, yeah, the magazine is finished. If D.C. keeps it around another six months I’ll be surprised. So what will D.C. cancel next?

–Bobby Kimball, former lead singer for the band Toto, for his “recent issues” in Los Angeles. Go ahead and read the story at the link. For the love of God, what the hell is going on with this guy? Why would he touch a young girl with his cane? Why would he try to fight cops in a public bathroom? What the hell, man?

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