Crime Scene Investigator

Star Trek has followers known as Trekkies and Rush Limbaugh has ditto heads, but I"m not sure if there is a name for me and my obsession; if it is an obsession.

I guess my problem began at the first BONG in the lead opening music to Law & Order. It is recognized by all. I watched the original series and was one of those who tuned in to see what was happening in the lives of people on the streets.

My love for a good crime story was later fueled by the Steven Tyler like scream that followed the red-haired man as he put his trademark shades on in the hit show CSI:Miami. The late night comedians would have their fill of making jokes about the red-haired man who promised to find the killer. The t.v. show's high ratings proved we believed his promises to find the killer and the audience held on to the end until he delivered.

I would graduate from just FINDING a killer with random bits of DNA left behind to profiling the killer by looking at the victim's positions at their time of death or the material the potential killer read or music he listened to. I fell in love with Criminal Minds. The best profiling show ever.

These shows began to infiltrate my life. I found myself wanting to seek justice for the people who cried victim in my everyday circle. I walked into places and took note of areas that would be great potentials for harvesting DNA. Oh, yeah, doorknobs were the first thing I noticed when entering and exiting buildings. Careless people left behind cups next to chairs which would definitely send someone up river fast. Later, I began to notice people's mannerisms wondering what kind of childhood trauma they had suffered and what kind of people they would probably kill.

I became the number one investigator in my home. If my husband lost his keys, I would almost seal off a crime scene, look for witnesses to question, and go through, retracing his daily habits. When I ventured outside for exercise, I looked at tire tracks and insect markings trying to determine who-what-when the perp had been in the vicinity.

I honed these skills telling my family how valuable or unvaluable THEY would be if there was a war or some kind of natural dissaster. I believe my crime solving skills will be valuable for foraging for food or for supplies to survive. I also think my hightened knowledge of criminals will help me know who to trust and who will cut off my head for a candy bar if the times called for it.

For all of you thinking I have lost touch with reality, let me assure you this post is just in fun and is intended to pay homage to the great crime shows; which I do love.

Television has allowed us to step into places and careers we only dare dream about. The DOWNFALL is when we really believe we are qualified to inform and assist others in these fields when we do not have the proper training. I can speak the lingo of an investigator and impress maybe a handful of people, but I know that is as far as I can go and want to go in a field that deal with criminals.

As with politics, many of us have become ARMCHAIR politicians and sad to say we think we have expertise in many other fields as well. But just as I have acknowledged my lack of qualifications as a CSI agent, hopefully we give politicians a break, ministers a break, and others who have chosen a career we all believe we can do better or are quickly to give advice about. We are always greater in our OWN mind when it comes to others area of expertise.

Hopefully our access to information on the television and on computers will be used wisely making us smarter but not dumb enough to lead us to believe we can know everything.

Social media is filled with people who know know than the average person. It allows individuals to stick their nose and two cents in areas they would normally have no access to. Social media allows individuals to have supporters of some of the wildest conspiracies imaginable where tryth and facts are secondary to excitement and be one of the few who "know the real truth." Social media has made us 'armchair' everything. The number of beauty advisors, fashion advisors, mental health advisors, religious advisors, political advisors, gardening advisors, health advisors, etc., is off the charts. There is an advisor for any and everything under the moon without the credentials to back them up. 

A great and necessary skill to have when dealing with social media has become being a crime scene investigator to make sure what you are believing and supporting is true. Is there concrete evidence to back it up? How does the person relaying information or advice carry themselves? Where do they draw their material and facts from. What trial of evidence proves they are dealing with reliable verifyable sources of information? Why do they consider themselves a person qualified to be an expert on the subject matter? And who are their victim - I mean target audience or consumer they want to influence? 

Many criminals have a Mode of Operation or M.O. The criminal playbook rarely changes. It just becomes tweeked as crime solvers find out how they operate. Criminal activity is usually benificial to the criminal and not the victim. They do not care about the victim and crimes are not victimless. People who use social media as an opportunity to sway or have influence over people in a harmful manner are in a way committing a crime whether punishable legally or not. It is criminal because spreading lies creates victims. Many victims of false information or of conspiracy theories may go on to victimized others as we have seen done by mass shooters. 

Freedom of speech seems to cover the freedom of lying. In a nation which prides itself on being a Christian nation, many Christian foundational teachings are ignored. One such commandment of the Bible is,“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This Commandment is recorded in Exodus 20:19 and Deuteronomy 5:20. It is typically understood as a command not to tell lies. This is clearly something not held in high regard by many adherents to the faith. This was an important commandment, not to lie, by saying I am witnessing to the truth of what I am saying, because it caused grave harm. During the writing of this commandment, many offenses were punishable by death so a witness had to come forth to say, yes, I witnessed of what is being stated or accused. A man's word was his bond and what a person said was held as truth. We no longer live in an age where a man's word is his bond and we could have assurity he would be protective of putting his word in doubt by lying.

It's all fun and games sitting in your favorite armchair or couch, tuned into your favorite crime show, being able to play detective or criminal expert for an hour. But becoming an expert is far more involved then wating several seasons of a crime show. So it is with other areas we come to believe we are more than capable of delving into, claiming expertise, and affecting and influincing others. Degrees in certain career fields also come with responsibility. The armchair professional usually do not have the responsibility of their CHOOSEN field which allows them not to adhere to ethical or legal codes. 

No matter how many crime shows I watch, I maybe be good at solving cases, but I don't have the training which allows me to go beyond the set up scenario of the hour-long television show or movie. I can speak the lingo, and can probably impress listeners, but knowing the language does not allow me to be a prfessional. The one thing we all should learn from crime shows is that criminals will always be in search of a victim. Social media has made it easier for those with 'bad' intentions, whether consciously or not, create victims on a large scale. The victims never see it coming, but the audience always does. 

 

Taylor Swift's Super Bowl 2024

     

    People are calling for women with influence to back President Biden for re-election November 2024. All eyes are focused and waiting for Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Beyounce, and TAYLOR SWIFT to make commercials endorsing Joe Biden. Why Taylor Swift? Because of her followers, the Swifties. There are hundreds of thousands of loyal Swifties who will do whatever the singer lead them to do. 

    Even people who are not Taylor Swift fans have been drawn into that circle of fans due to Swift's public love affair with the Chiefs football player Travis Kelce who is headed to the Super Bowl in 2024. Her presence at each of her boyfriend's football games has upset male sports fans. They do not like the lovey-dovey stuff injected into their manly-man hit-em-hard time that was once all testosterone time. Tayor and Kelce are making football SWEET. It didn't help much when his brother, Jason Kelce (Philedelphia Eagles) gave him a long hug, too long for some, after his team won their spot in the Super Bowl matchup.

 No matter where we go, no matter what we do, it seems things are always polarized and eventually insist a person choose the Democrat side or Republican side. And if things continue on in the pick-a-side polarization, religion will creep up as the finale battleground. Hopefully, after the Super Bowl, Taylor Swift hate will subside and we will not be a part of her romance/relationship any longer.

    During her time in the spotlight, her image was used using AI (Artificial Intelligence) in nude and other unflattering images online. The images were so 'real' looking, people believed they were actually photos of her. She asked/demanded the edited images be removed from the forums. 

    When a woman, stands up against a male dominated feild, she faces attacks questioning her 'femaleness." Michelle Obama is constantly being called a man and Talylor Swift is being portrayed as making Travis Kelce feminine. If she can make a 6'5" tight end into a little girl, then she must be a threat, I guess to others right?

    If the strong influential women I named at the beginning of this blog decide to step up and be vocal regarding their choice for President 2024, then you better believe, they will face scathing commentary on every aspect of their womanhood or lack thereof. 

    One woman whose story I admire is Joan of Arc. No, women being vocal in the political arena does not put them in the same league as Joan of Arc, but how and why she was eventually killed shows what a female leader or 'game changer' may encounter. The decision for a woman to LEAD is no small undertaking and sacrifice. Hillary Clinton can tell you a little about that.

    Being a TCM (Turner Classic Movie) fan, I spent this past Sunday night snuggled on my favorite couch to watch two versions of Joan of Arc. The first was a 1927 silent black and white version and the second was a foreign French version, also in black and white from 1937, I believe. Each movie had the English dialogue streaming on the bottom of the screen.

1920's Joan

I have seen many versions of Joan of Arc, but never one of the two listed above. These two versions were produced using only original court transcripts and interviews found by the people of that time.

Joan was tried by the Catholic Church with the English having a vested interest in the outcome of her trial due to the fact she was helping the king of France, their enemy at the time.

Joan broke all of the rules. She wore men clothing, led men into battle, wore armor, cut her hair, and worst of all; she believed she could bypass the church i.e. bishops and pope and speak directly with God and even the saints and angels (Michael). To the church this belief made her a heretic, and the church was going to excommunicate her if she did not recant that she was working under the counsel of God. God only spoke to the male clergy. She had gone too far and stepped into domains which were only for men. She was inprisoned and would not be released until she said she could not speak to nor hear from God.

    While in prison it was determined that her clothes may have been giving her stoic resolve, so they tried to get her to put on a dress, which she refused to do. Then it was determined since she vowed her virginity to God, she was receiving her strength from that. In the 1937 movie Joan told a priest that the guards had tried to rape her on three different occasions. Communion was paraded before her as a bargaining tool to get her to recant. Every form of coersion and threats were employed on Joan to get her to say she had lied about religous claims.

    After being tried just feet from the galleys (gallows), she recanted, but within hours changed her mind and said she was weakened by the fear of death but could not make God a liar and said her recanting was the true lie.

    Joan was burned at the stake with the church and governmental officials looking on. As soon as the flames began, you could see the doubt cross the faces of the men. They had to wonder, who would go to their death proclaiming to be a servant of God if they were not. This was the action, in like manner, of Jesus and later the apostles.

    I thought about all of the people who want to lead or be an online influencer. When glory, fame, fortune, and honor are the results it is easy to want to lead, but when ridicule, torture, and death are the result, no hand will go up to be chosen. Why would a beloved musician even consider continually showing up to watch her boyfriend play football when it stirred up so much hate and negativity towards her? Why would she publically support a presidential candidate when she knows it will cause people to hate her or have negative comments about her? Why would she put herself in a place to be publically ridiculed and demeaned? 

    Leaders are born and show up in places and ways we least expect and we never saw coming. Great leaders always pay a heavy price whether we are aware of it or not. If we were to read the biography of people we consider great, there will be pages filled with pain and often times uncertainty and pure defeat of the spirit at times.

    Joan of Arc was a woman who led but she was also a woman who followed God. The church saw her as a threat with her nonsense of hearing and talking to God on her own. Years would pass and what the church feared at that time would still come to pass, the Protestant movement. Protestants believed everyone should be able to read the Bible for themselves and pray to God on their own.

    Everybody is looking for a hero. We love heros. Sometimes, we have to look at our ownselves and ask ourselves are we a leader or a follower? Do we understand the price we ask others to pay for what we aren't able to step up and do, whether in politics or religion. So, now I must ask myself do I know when to lead and do I know when to follow? Joan's life ended at the age of 19 in a tragic blaze of fire and smoke. She stood behind her beliefs and cause to the end. All I can say is, I can understand why men would follow her into battle and at the same time view her as a threat because men would follow her into battle.

    Taylor Swift have her Swifties. And for a minute now, all eyes have been on Taulor Swift. What's next for her after the Super Bowl because she will be there and cameras are going to try to catch her every reaction during the game. How angry will football fans be at the air time given to Taylor Swift?