I feel like award ceremonies are just family affairs for @Beyonce and @S_C_ #MTVVMAs2014—
Harkeet Kittu Pannu (@KITTUPANNU) August 25, 2014

While last year’s VMA ceremony was quite controversial and exciting, this year’s lacked much of the pizazz and outrageousness that defines the VMAs. Not to say it was a total reserved and conservative night, but much of the award ceremony was forgettable, save for a few moments. Here’s a list of ALL WINNERS from the night.

It started off with a BANG (BANG). Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj kicked things off by performing their current hits “Break Free,” “Anaconda” and “Bang Bang,” respectively – talk about setting the mood. While the performances were essentially recapitulations of the music videos, I enjoyed seeing Ariana frolic around and Nicki actually do the moves she pulled off so flawlessly in her homage to Becky and big booties. Great way to kick off the VMAs – not the best performance I saw tonight, but definitely one to start the night off right, with just the right amount of  awkwardness one would feel when watching with my parents (side note: totally was).

Watch here

Also – props to Nicki for still performing while her dress was coming off. She stayed true to her duties and just clutched herself and covered what needed to be covered while maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.

Soon after this, Katy Perry won Best Female Video for “Dark Horse.” Firstly, I was not the biggest fan of the video. The song I loved, but the video, it felt too contrived and beneath the quality I have come to expect from Katy – see anything she released from the Teenage Dream era. Also, I thought the video would be disqualified from this category based on it being a collaboration… But alas, it was not.

Once Perry won the first award, it was time for another performance. I mean, that’s the formula, right? One award, one performance – keep the audiences at home entertained. Enter TSwift. Her performance: not as awkward as I was hoping :(, though I loved the whole “I’m not going to jump” bit. Overall, “Shake It Off” came off as tasteful and cute. Very TSwift. Not very outrageous VMAs, but definitely TSwift-worthy. I just wish TSwift channeled all of that gyrating and awkward energy from the video onto the stage… Missed opportunities, I guess.

Watch here

From here, TSwift’s BFF Ed Sheeran won Best Male Video for “SING.” Thank The Lord! I called this one earlier tonight. The video itself was hilarious and definitely embodied the feelings associated with the song. And it had muppets behaving badly. I love all the talking puppets who do outrageous things, especially muppets. Yes, I am still a seven year old boy who loves muppets and animated films. Don’t judge.

And then came Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, and they were so out of their element. Carrey was able to pull off his jokes, but Jeff – his came off as old-timey and dated. I feel like this was not the best audience for him. Carrey did a great job of playing off his fall, though. Their whole purpose for being on stage was to announce the winner of Best Pop Video, which surprisingly went to Ariana Grande (and Iggy Azalea) for “Problem.” While I love that song and the video seemed like a cross between retro/’70s-platform-boot-hippie-fashion and early Britney Spears, I still thought Iggy’s Clueless-inspired “Fancy” with Charli XCX would take home the award. After all, the video portrayed a cult classic so well and propelled the song to stay at No. 1 for seven weeks. Seven weeks. That’s a long long time. Oh well… Ariana’s acceptance speech was funny, short and cute, so there’s that.

GREAT PERFORMANCE ALERT

Wow, Sam Smith. You really brought down the house with “Stay With Me.” With just a piano and vocals, you commanded the attention of everyone around you – even my father turned to me and said, “Now that’s a good performance.” So, I mean, you have the approval of a 76-year-old Indian man, if that helps. And to think the song was inspired by a grindr hookup gone bad… I will say that this performance turned me into a fan. I legitimately went from loathing the song every time I hear it to now actually humming along.

Watch here

After this, Drake won the Best Hip-Hop video for “Hold On We’re Going Home,” which, given the other nominations, made perfect sense. And then Usher took the stage.

Starting off a little rocky (he sounded a bit like a banshee in the beginning), Usher definitely brought it. Pulling off the Roaring ’20s jazz band look, Usher moved his feet back into public prominence with his decent rendition of “She Came To Give It To You.” Overall, it felt like he was trying to pull a Bruno Mars – not the worst thing, but when you are the R&B powerhouse known as Usher, it does not come off as authentic.

Watch here

Then came the Rock Video Award, snagged by Lorde for “Royals.” This marked the first time EVER in the history of the VMAs that a female received the Rock Award. Way to go, Lorde! :) Not going to lie, I didn’t watch any of the other videos nominated, so I was gunning for her to win. And her acceptance speech was precious, as usual.

Things took a turn for the worst immediately following this, when 5 Seconds Of Summer started performing… They were such a borefest! Performing a slow song called “Amnesia,” you know the type of song that a record label would release as a sixth single in order to squeeze every last drop of sales out of an album, 5SOS took a moment that could have been their solidifying moment in the pop landscape and just shit all over it. The song was an inappropriate choice for a performance (something I found was a trend with rock bands that performed at the awards show: Maroon 5‘s “MAPS,” anyone?).

And it was at this point that the VMAs started to lose steam. Fifth Harmony (AKA the next Danity Kane) won the Artist To Watch award, and Maroon 5 showed us just why “MAPS” is not taking off at radio stations with a lackluster performance. In addition, Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora tried to make the VMAs something worth watching, but they were somewhat unsuccessful. The performance was great at times, like the beginning and chorus, but Iggy’s raps were too long to really rope in her audience. I will say the ballet dancers worked well for the song, especially since the melody has that twinkling music box aspect to it (reminiscent of an old jewelry box containing a rotating ballerina).

Iggy Azalea channels her inner black widow for the performance.

Watch here

In terms of random non-music related things that occurred during the VMAs, what was with the tribute to Robin Williams with NO lead-in and then an abrupt cut to a Covergirl moment? I believe that was definitely in bad taste. It could have been the perfect time to discuss the benefits of talking with a counselor or mental health professional about any issues a viewer could be facing. They missed out on some great social awareness moments just then. At the very least, they could have prepared the audience for the Robin Williams montage, so that we could prepare ourselves to pay our respects. But again, it was a missed opportunity.

Lastly, the big award of the night: Video of the Year. Of all the nominees, I could not decide which one I really wanted to win it. Going through the list, there were so many great nominees, and if memory serves me correctly, it is hard for an artist to win all three awards (the specific genre, gender and Video of the Year awards) for the same video since Britney did it with “Piece Of Me” back in 2008. And so, I really had no idea that Miley Cyrus was going to take it for “Wrecking Ball.” The video itself was beautiful, raw, full of emotion and while it was an obvious ploy to gain attention, by Miley, the video actually served its purpose of representing the song really well. But the thing that got to me was what Miley did when walking up to accept the award.

Talk about taking a stand for something amazing, @MileyCyrus #HomelessYouth #MTVVMAs2014—
Harkeet Kittu Pannu (@KITTUPANNU) August 25, 2014

Miley did a total 180, causing “controversy” in a more positive light: she asked a homeless youth from LA accept the award on her behalf. The young man talked about his and the struggles of so many across the nation – those who were abandoned or ran away from abusive homes and who try every day to support themselves by taking odd jobs to make ends meet. Miley took away what could have been an ultimate controversial moment on her part and turned it into something beautiful. I mean, I know I was waiting for her to get up there and say something outrageous to liven up the snoozefest that the VMAs had become, but instead, she brought light to a cause near and dear to her heart. Good on you, Miley.

Watch here

Great PR move on @MileyCyrus' part. It's a total 180 compared to her antics last year. Love both sides of Miley but glad others can see this—
Harkeet Kittu Pannu (@KITTUPANNU) August 25, 2014

And then came the performance everyone had been waiting for: Beyoncé’s Video Vanguard Award. Going through most of the songs from her self-titled hit-drunk frenzy-inducing secret release Beyoncé, she sashayed and hair-flipped through a mini-montage to one of the best video works of the past year. The funny part was that the performance was actually quite different than the one any of her fans would have experienced if they had seen her On The Run show this summer. And for that, I commend her. Beyoncé always goes that extra mile, living up to the “best entertainer alive” title Jay Z had bestowed upon her when handing her the Vanguard Award. Side note: the most awe-inspiring part of the whole performance was when she sang “Blue.” You could see the emotion permeating throughout the stage. Beyoncé owned it.

Watch here

Overall, the show was more conservative and reserved than I was expecting. And I’m quite bummed that I missed watching the last episode of True Blood live for it. But alas, we are all allowed to make stupid choices every once in a while, right?

Multiple private pictures and videos of notable A- and B-list actresses (and a couple of actors) leaked to the general public two Sundays ago. Most notably, Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lawrence‘s nude pictures flooded the internet, with multiple copies being hosted everywhere in it’s vast landscape.

That was the incident. Here is the fallout:

People are going out of their way to slut-shame others for taking private, intimate photos of themselves that were hacked and leaked out. These are private videos and images that were taken through illegal means and used for some profit. This “profit” I speak of is not the traditional monetary gain that some people get for selling the pictures.

(This is where I get into urban myth and hearsay that makes sense to me…)

So one of my friends and I were discussing this issue of the pictures that were being released. The frequency at which they were released was not uniform; we had pictures dropping in various quantities and from various years throughout the first two days. This trend could
mean that there is not necessarily one person who has a whole bunch of celebrity nudes. Our theory is that there is some sort of underground celebrity nude club of sorts, where membership into the club consists of “buying in” through supplying your own celebrity nudes.

In addition (to support this claim), there have been rumors of multiple rings that have a buy-in option. So, for example, if I had pictures of… say the girl from Divergent and Fault In Our Stars. I could then gain membership to the trading circles (it’s an unfortunate and perpetuated system). The good thing (if you can really say that) is that it seemed most nudes stayed within the circles, with collectors keeping their pictures close at hand instead of sharing with the general public. I mean, there were always those random leaks, but those usually were by other celebrities, as was the case (allegedly) with Drake Bell, who leaked Vanessa Hudgens‘ picture and Paris Hilton with her own sex tape.

But then that all changed when some of the collectors went AWOL and just started releasing some pics. Maybe they wanted notoriety? Maybe it was to piss off the other collectors? Maybe it was to show the world private pictures they were never supposed to see? Maybe it was a journalist who infiltrated the circle and collected a few hundred pictures to just leak them all. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a concerted effort by celebrities to remain relevant and slowly create the waves of CHANGE regarding their own images or how privacy among celebrities and people of public interest are handled. And JLaw and the rest are just collateral damage…

Whatever the reasoning, it has sparked some debate on how privacy in the US regarding public officials and famous people are treated regarding their own privacy. Will the US resort to policies similar to Europe? Policies where journalists and media outlets cannot ask about personal information in interviews? Or do you think that “transparency” and lack of protection will continue to reign for those well-known people in the land of the free?

In a country where the defamation laws give much freedom to the media in light of the First Amendment, famous people can and continue to be the target of much speculation, most of which they have to live with for the rest of their lives. For example, when I pass the magazines on sale at the checkout counter, I see headlines delving into the gruesome cheating lives of Hollywood couples and other terrible terrible speculations about people’s lives. These are largely allowed because of the difficulty in mounting a defamation claim. These claims can be made as long as the ones being talked about cannot prove they have been damaged by the words said or printed. The person bringing a defamation suit, a celebrity in this case, would have to prove the statement was false. Truth is an affirmative defense to a defamation claim. Second, the celebrity would have to prove the statement was a fact. If the statement is not a provable fact but merely an opinion, a defamation claim will fail. The celebrity would also have to prove damage or harm to reputation. And emotional harm does not usually fly in these courts.

For example, it would be difficult for a celebrity that has a history of a certain behavior to argue that publishing information regarding that same behavior harms his or her reputation. Finally, the celebrity would have to prove the statement was made with “actual malice,” meaning the speaker made the statement knowing the statement was truth or made it with reckless disregard to its truth. See New York Times v. Sullivan for more on this. All of these factors make winning a defamation suit in the United States an uphill battle for public officials and public figures. Especially celebrities – look at Tom Cruise, who sued publications for calling him gay because, according to his defense, would mean the general public would question his masculinity and he would not be able to convince them that he could indeed kick ass as an action star. I’m talking late-’90s, “I’m an action star and won’t be taken seriously if people think I’m gay” arguments. The argument Cruise was able to make included monetary damages from the “slanderous” comments made by news outlets regarding his sexuality. That is why he was so successful in his law suit. (Thanks to my friend Michael Lambert, who helped clear up the law jargon on this. You can read about media law on his blog here.)

But in an era where sexually-explicit pictures of politicians and celebrities run rampant, it would be hard for any star to claim a leaked nude photo really derided their career. And so far, I don’t think there has been any fallout regarding the affected celebrities.

So now back to the matter at hand: slut-shaming. Why is it that people are going straight to blaming JLaw and the rest for taking those explicit pictures? What they do in the confines of their own homes and share with the ones they want to share is none of our business unless they share it with us. That was certainly not the case with these pictures. I am quite sure that JLaw didn’t want to share those pics with us. Instead of condemning the hackers who had repeatedly violated multiple people’s privacy, people have been blaming those women who took pictures of themselves. I mean, these people got their freedoms violated. That in itself is a very un-American thing to occur. It is something we fight for every day. We protect it. Here, overseas, everywhere. Yet, people think to blame the victim first instead of the perpetrator who went out of his or her way to make someone feel unsafe in his or her own house. This is definitely a form of cyberterrorism. And yet the majority of Americans are up in arms about people celebrating their body and expressing their own sexuality. It just shows us how sexually repressed our puritanical society truly is. It’s really messed up.

To sum up, this nude photo leak has brought a lot of unnecessary slut-shaming to the forefront. If anything, though, this will hopefully guide congress to take cyberterrorism and online privacy more seriously than they have in the past.

 You took a Polaroid of us | Then discovered | The rest of the world was black and white | But we were in screaming color | And I remember thinking… | Are we out of the woods yet? | Are we in the clear yet?

 - Taylor Swift, “Out of the Woods” from her forthcoming pop album 1989

Okay, so I have listened to the song about 20 times since I downloaded it last night. In normal TSwift fashion, it is catchy as hell. Think Charli XCX‘s “Boom Clap” intro flourish, take that melody and create an earworm of a chorus with it. So, yes, the song oozes sophisticated pop with a hint of good writing. Speaking of good writing, TSwift went back to what she does best: writing songs about boys. This time around, though, instead of ranting about the things they did wrong, and she did on previous hits like “We Are Never Getting Back Together” or “I Knew You Were Trouble.,” or even about letting the haters “hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” as she did on her recent No. 1 “Shake It Off,” Swift returns to discussing the pitfalls of love and relationships, explaining the ups and downs she her then-beau went through. Overall, legit songwriting from my Country Queen, especially after the banal but ultra-catchy “Shake” :)

So now the question all of you have… which guy is she writing about? At first listen, I thought she was referring to Taylor Lautner. The whole December thing was a big red flag, as he was the subject of her 2010 reflective sap-fest “Back To December.” I thought she was legit throwing it back all the way back to December, if you know what I mean (I’m so corny lol). But, after substantial analysis of her lyrics (procrastination at its finest), I realized she was talking about none other than everyone else‘s favorite 1D member, Harry Styles. It made sense. He has that stupid paper plane necklace to which she refers in the second verse and then there was the whole snowmobile accident she references in the bridge. I mean, I’m not really complaining. She really does make it easy to figure her out. It’s like she’s an artist that actually enjoys sharing a part of herself with her fans… Who’d have thunk?

Overall, Swift does not go into a full blame game on either side, instead choosing to chock the ended relationship up to being doomed from the beginning. It’s a sweet and hypnotic song that is sure to hit the top spot :) #OutOfTheWoodsAndOntoNo1

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RATING: ★★★★★

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We’ve been walking down this road some time | And you love, and you love me good, no lie | But there’s something behind | those eyes, those eyes | That you can’t, that you can’t disguise

 – Gwen Stefani, “Baby Don’t Lie”

Gwen Stefani just wants her lover to know that she values her honesty. It’s a return to form, after nearly 7 years of no new solo Stefani music. I love that she utilizes an intro for the beginning of the song: it’s all instrumentation and Gwen feeling the song, as if Gwen is getting us ready to hear the fun, bouncing melody that is this song. It’s a great song for Gwen to flail around the stage while performing. Obviously in a sexy rocker chick way, as she always does. With its repetitive nature, simple lyrics and anthemic melody, it’s a shoe-in for pop music success. Lyrically, it’s straight-forward. Don’t lie to Gwen when she asks you a question. Be direct and tell her what she wants to know. Because she can tell when you’re trying to front, y’all.

In terms of the song itself, it’s different from her previous forays into solo pop stardom. Before, she used to focus on dance-pop and hip-hop, as was the case with hits like “What You Waiting For,” “Crash” and “Wind It Up.” This time around, it sounds as if Gwen jumped on the electronic-rock sound she explored with her band No Doubt on their previous LP and combined it with Coldplay‘s signature sound from Viva La Vida and Mylo Xyloto. Think “Princess In China” meets “Settle Down.”

“Princess of China” Feat. Rihanna:

“Settle Down:”

It sounds like a continuation in sound from No Doubt’s musical collaboration, with a tribal-beachy vibe. Think some of No Doubt’s classics like “Start The Fire” and my personal favorite “Underneath It All,” if “Underneath” had been sped up with a Red Bull  (or some upper) added to it – “Baby Don’t Lie” is a bit more high-E than “Underneath.” I ‘m expecting a lot of sand and Hawaiian luau choreography for this video.

Overall, it’s a great way to start shaping her musical conversation. Especially when comparing it to her previous competition Fergie‘s latest single, “L.A.Love,” Gwen hit all the right notes (“L.A.Love” is just a reinterpretation of an atlas set to a pretty awesome beat – Fergie Ferg calls out her favorite cities of the world; but hey, it beats her misspelling “TASTY” again). Is Gwen’s song relatively forgettable? Yes. Will we probably forget it in a couple of months, maybe. But, it is still a great way to get the masses to take a second look at Gwen before she wows them with her musical genius.

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Song GRADE: ★★¾☆☆

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Is this the same One Direction that brought us hits like “One Thing” and “Live While We’re Young?” Definitely not.

Though Midnight Memories may have been a narrower interpretation of the sound that made them famous, FOUR is anything but that. With FOUR, 1D shows audiences everywhere that they can indeed go in multiple musical directions, if you will ;). From the Journey-inspired “Steal My Girl,” to the Ed Sheeran-penned “18,” to even the epic finish “Cloud,” 1D flips the listener’s world upside down and makes him or her contemplate a reality where 1D could be a band that could be taken relatively seriously. And with that, 1D shed their boyband image and blossomed into a mature five-piece that can now hold their own with other rock bands.

Taking hints from the greats, like the aforementioned Journey, Beatles and even Tears for Fears (“Stockholm Syndrome” is reminiscent of their hit “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” - side note: Lorde did an amazing cover of it for the Hunger Games Soundtrack, 1D strays more from their recognizable sound to delve into classic rock anthems and better songwriting. The songwriting this time around is much more strong, almost as if all that time Harry Styles and Taylor Swift spent together finally paid off for the band (as it did for TSwift)… But really, though, their writing this time around is on-point. While they do dabble in their kiddie pool, with nods to the type of music that did make them famous on songs like “Girl Almighty” and “No Control,” the group expands their musical talents (the most they’ve tried to do in their four years of existence). Standouts include the hit singles/releases/deep cuts “18″ (above), “Steal My Girl” (below), “Fools Gold,” “Night Changes,” “Stockholm Syndrome,” “Fireproof” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.”

Overall, between this release and seeing them live back in September, I am thoroughly impressed with this group. They’ve become full-fledged artists who truly enjoy their craft. Their live performances are out of this world in terms of the energy they bring. The best part about this release is that I feel like 1D has finally removed itself from the guilty pleasure genre and mostly permanently affixed itself in the genuine Pop/Rock genre. They’re a band I can actually admit to listening and enjoying. So, 1D, I want to thank you for finally taking your music to the next level and making it okay to claim you in my iTunes library.

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GRADE: ★★★★¼

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UPDATE: I haven’t seen the film yet, but plan on doing so after finals…

So I finally sat down and read the full Hunger Games trilogy. Let me start by complimenting the author on a splendid first two books – the first covered just enough go not keep for in on about things I didn’t care to read about while covering just enough of the stuff I did to make me turn to the next page. Overall, a great book. The second, Catching Fire, was a little slower, with more background information. But you know, at the end of the day, it was my favorite book. It really captured the beginnings of the rebel unrest and made me feel like I was really a part of the action. Of course it didn’t hurt that my favorite character became a reality in this part of the series (Finnick Odair). Overall, I thought the whole book was a great read. And it really set up the third book well… So much so that instead of taking a break from the series and reading The Fault In Our Stars, I chose to jump into Mockingjay immediately. And boy was that a terrible mistake.

From the beginning there was a difference in the quality of writing. Whereas Katniss could be pretty whiny and “poor me poor me” for a little but but then actually do something about it, a lot of Mockingjay was about Katniss relinquishing her control to others. This is not the Katniss who we knew to kick ass when someone challenged her. The one who would regularly challenge the Capitol with displays of defiance (see berries in hand and shooting the apple in book 1, shooting the arrow into the force field and creating a Seneca Crane dummy in book 2). This was a subdued Katniss who reflected way too much on her actions and how they affected others. And while that is always honorable to live that way, it is pretty obnoxious when done to this extent. We see a Katniss who is very unsure of herself, so much so that the whole time she is told by others what to do. No action is truly her own. No thought is really something she thought up herself.

Instead, we see her latch into others’ ideals and become a follower in leader’s clothing. And while this would be okay if it were the first or second book, this is the third one. She can’t be acting so wishy washy the last time we see her in action. The only time I felt the book come into it’s own and stayed on par with the others from the trilogy was when Katniss took control of the mission in the Capitol and went AWOL. And that was only because she was directly told to do so seconds beforehand from the general who had just died.

Lastly, WTH happened with the end and her love triangle? It seemed like they were content to make Katniss out to be delirious from the pressures thrust upon her and not totally mentally stable. I mean, while I am truly glad she ended up with ______ (I’m not going to ruin that part for you), I was just surprised at the extent to which they were going to demoralize and discredit her to allow her to enjoy the rest of her life. It’s almost as if no matter who is in charge (District 13 or the Capitol), things will always be the same…

That was actually a theme I thoroughly enjoyed. Collins did great at showing how the two rivaling power-hungry groups were essentially similar in the amount of terror they planned on expelling. This sentiment was handled well by Collins and I commend her for not messing it up. I will not forgive her (as I still haven’t forgiven JK Rowling) for how she managed to kill and dispel many noteworthy characters. She literally just left them to rot in areas ravaged by war. I understand to an extent that many people perish within a war, but to have had so many characters lie wasted away for alligators and other Capitol creatures to eat? It was just too sad. And that was another thing: Collins just mentioned that the characters who ended up living suffered from PTSD and other mental illnesses, but she did not go into detail about how it affected them. If you’re going to screw up so many people’s happy endings, at least show how they are getting the help they need. Don’t make the book soooo depressing.

This is why I (along with many other readers) felt that Suzanne rushed through writing the last one due to the difference in quality observed. Hopefully the director will take creative license and make the movies more worth watching. Because as of now, I know I’m not going to enjoy it. (FYI I still haven’t seen the film. This is just a critique on the book.)

Over the years, I have learned a lot from my experiences with others. Especially authority figures. These include interactions with police officers, deans, professors, bosses, parents, mentors and more. Unfortunately, as is the case in many of my recent interactions with some of these figures, I have realized the extent to which their empathy may stretch.

Let’s start with the easiest of targets: Louisiana police officers. I’m not talking about state troopers – my interactions with them have always been more or less pleasant; they were able to empathize and at least try to explain the law within the context of the issue I was facing (like the dangers of speeding or making sure I get my brake tag updated). I’m talking about Baton Rouge PD and Kenner PD. The first of these interactions occurred between my mother and an officer after a teen who had been texting while driving did not take the time to look in front of his car before accelerating from rest and colliding with my mom’s car (even moving the car forward until I got out of the car to grab the driver’s attention). The officer who came to take our statements, after having a private conversation with the father of the teen who hit my mom, passed judgment (before even taking down my mom’s statement), stating that the boy had the right of way and that they did not have to do anything about the accident. He also laughed at my mother while she explained what happened and condescendingly replied back with snide remarks.

When I heard the officer’s tone, I immediately spoke up – no one talks rudely to my mom and gets away with it. Of course the officer laughed me off when I asked him why he was okay with the teen not exchanging information with us and why he was passing judgment on a traffic violation when the teen was OBVIOUSLY breaking the law (it is illegal for 16 year olds to be on the phone while driving). I was riled up and wanted answers. Instead, the officer just kept laughing at me and telling me to just sit in the car so he could handle business with the adults. The funny part was that the officer never issued any warnings or tickets to either party involved in the crash – one would expect the person who had been in “the wrong” according the the officer to at least receive a written warning. That was not the case.

Being the person I am, I called the police department to report the officer’s misconduct. And when on the phone with the captain, I was treated as if I had no idea what I was talking about. Again, people were talking down to me. And if you know me, I LOATHE being spoken to in that manner. So, my mother and I drove to the police station to speak with the captain in person. While speaking with him, my own suspicions regarding misconduct on the officer’s part were confirmed (regarding passing judgment and the officer using a condescending and rude tone). The funny part about all of this was that the 16 year old and his father were able to laugh with the officer and walk away without a ticket, whereas my mother and I received horrible treatment. Oh, and the captain was not any better than his detective.

Onto the next example: waiting at the airport to pick up a bunch of relatives who had just arrived from Malaysia. One relative had already made her way outside carrying a couple of bags that I had placed in my car, then she turned around and went back inside to retrieve the rest of her luggage. I mean, between the eight relatives, there were approximately 18 bags. So there were going to be a lot of trips back and forth. Well, my aunt goes back inside and five seconds later an officer knocks on my window and demands that I move my car immediately. I told the officer I have family members that arrived and are bringing out luggage as we speak. He replied, “Don’t make me repeat myself. Circle around now!” I explained again, “Sir, my aunt literally just came and dropped a bag off and went back in. She will be back any minute.” While I explain this, the officer begins to narrow his eyes and glare at me intensely for about seven seconds. He then said, “I told you already, move your car now.”

At this point, I felt like two things could happen: if I kept resisting or insisting that there were other loiterers (like the stupid Buick in front of me who had been parked there for about 5 minutes and who had not had any deplaners approach the car with baggage), this guy would try to arrest me or become violent for no reason, OR I could just comply and move my car, inconveniencing my relatives who were to get to the car waiting area in literally one minute – I can confirm this because I received phone calls from them asking why I drove off. I chose to de-escalate the situation and begin moving my car. I asked the ever-so-helpful officer to at least help guide me forward so that I don’t hit the car in front of me. He then said, “Oh you mean the car with the nice lady who’s following the rules? Yea you better not hit her.” I wanted to retort scathingly, “Are you kidding me right now? This bitch has been sitting there the whole time!” But I said nothing. I could see that this officer was just looking to transfer his frustration to someone else and I was unfortunately helping him do that. After moving my car, I saw him deliberately skip over the Buick in front of me and instead approach my uncle who happened to be the next car in front of the Buick, telling him to move his car. Thank god for my uncle, our relatives were within sight from the car, so the officer himself had to move on.

This was another instance in which I felt singled out by an authority figure who wanted to abuse his power because he had the ability to do so.

I feel like I have to at least state this given my recent terrible run-ins: I have had exemplary reviews from professors, bosses, mentors and deans all stating that I deal with authority well, making sure to never overstep my boundaries in a rude or disorderly manner. I have always respected authority figures in the past, but these recent issues, along with the Ferguson and Long Island issues, have made me realize the abuse of power and the lack of training prevalent within these populations. This begs the question: at what point are we able to trust that the people who have power over us have the ability to reason and protect all of its people, regardless of his or her own prejudices? When can the American public expect that the people who are supposed to serve the public’s best interest will serve ALL of the publics, and not just a majority stakeholder?

Of course, as I have seen countless times in PR and communication, campaigns that focus on reaching the most people tend to be the most successful. This includes tailoring campaigns and products to fit the needs of the majority of its target audience. Hell, even business and economics tell people to always expand one’s target audience to increase one’s profit margin. In this case, that means government and society should focus on the majority’s needs and demands before fulfilling the minority’s requirements. But that is not the democratic way. It never has been. So why should that change now?

Sorry – this is obviously a very negative post. I’m just riled up from the mistreatment I recently received by a couple of terrible cops. Remember, I’m not making a blanket statement that all cops are bad – that’s not my intent. Instead, it’s to call attention to the ones who are indeed terrible. My trust and respect for officers has been shaken due to their recent behavior nationally and because of my own interactions with them. Here’s hoping that cops everywhere will take a page out of PR 101 and learn how to communicate effectively with people. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s their job to protect and SERVE. And in order to SERVE, they should familiarize themselves with ways to de-escalate situations and treat all of their publics the same.

Lastly, I have never lowered my standards when it comes to others in a relationship, so I’m definitely not going to do so with authority figures. Just because you have the power over a group of people does not mean it can be misused and abused. That is something I will not stand for. I’ll leave you with “Rude” by MAGIC!, a song I wanted to sing to the officer’s throughout my altercations.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,400 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 57 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.