🎨 Artcow Iconoclast / Jonathan Mack Sweet - The Chris-Chan of Arkansas

[Treenbeen]

Sometimes I don't agree with you Absinthe but this is a quality post.

Simple parody in and of itself isn't automatically flawed, despite what some people would think, and it's often a stepping stone towards true creativity (which often has shades of other media anyway, since there really is nothing new under the sun).

I just feel like he perennially takes the easy way out in all things and situations. This by itself wouldn't be a bad thing, I suppose, but he couples it with profoundly toxic and almost evil opinions about things and situations he has borne witness to. Selfishness should never be encouraged, and that is the watchword of the Iconoclast: me first, all the time.

I agree, selfishness should never be encouraged. I have gotten frustrated with him more than once because of trying to pass his problems off to whatever minority/political group was available as an excuse.

He does have some legitimate problems, it seems, in his living situation and circumstances, but I can't help but wonder how much is fact, how much is fiction, and how much is his own doing.

 

[The I Scream Man]

I agree, selfishness should never be encouraged. I have gotten frustrated with him more than once because of trying to pass his problems off to whatever minority/political group was available as an excuse.

He does have some legitimate problems, it seems, in his living situation and circumstances, but I can't help but wonder how much is fact, how much is fiction, and how much is his own doing.

In lieu of any hard evidence or supporting opinions, we only have speculation. Such is life.

edit: also the thing with his goddamn mom struck a raw nerve with me.

 

[Treenbeen]

In lieu of any hard evidence or supporting opinions, we only have speculation. Such is life.

edit: also the thing with his goddamn mom struck a raw nerve with me.

That seems to have hit hard on a lot of people. I do feel badly if it's true that his mother was assaulted, but I also feel that it's not a valid excuse to feel frightened and suspicious of an entire group of people for the rest of your life, and for racist behavior. There's no justification for that.

He called the police, which was of course the right thing to do... not sure how I feel about the rest of that situation.

Unless of course you meant living with her, in which case, disregard everything I just said.

 

[The I Scream Man]

No I meant how he didn't at least try to rush to her defense. I know it's a common theme on the internet to second guess someone's actions after the fact, but I feel that if he wouldn't stand up for his own mother in her darkest hour then there is no hope for him as a person. I mean, would it have been different if it had been his child or something? Plus the fact that he constantly denigrates her (calling her simple, etc.) and it makes my blood boil in my veins. I try my best to not get mad at things like this because it's not healthy but fuck that pisses me off. I love my mom more than life itself and certainly more than my own skin, and I would gladly catch an ass whoopin in her place. Sweetness wouldn't because he doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone but himself, and he deserves to be vilified for it.

Edit: by which I mean that if he would not be willing to sacrifice himself for others, if need be, even up to and including giving his own life for his family, then I feel he has no common ground with the rest of humanity. That isn't to say that he should seek death at every opportunity, but extraordinary circumstances (such as your mom getting beat down in your driveway) require extraordinary reactions (rushing in to shield her with your body, no matter the consequences).

 

[Treenbeen]

No I meant how he didn't at least try to rush to her defense. I know it's a common theme on the internet to second guess someone's actions after the fact, but I feel that if he wouldn't stand up for his own mother in her darkest hour then there is no hope for him as a person. I mean, would it have been different if it had been his child or something? Plus the fact that he constantly denigrates her (calling her simple, etc.) and it makes my blood boil in my veins. I try my best to not get mad at things like this because it's not healthy but fuck that pisses me off. I love my mom more than life itself and certainly more than my own skin, and I would gladly catch an ass whoopin in her place. Sweetness wouldn't because he doesn't give a shit about anything or anyone but himself, and he deserves to be vilified for it.

It is frustrating. I know that if my mother were in any form of danger, I would call 911 and then do whatever I could to help her in any way I could. I carry pepper spray and knives, etc. I would at least try. I'm not sure I'd be able to succeed, but I would try my hardest.

 

[The I Scream Man]

It is frustrating. I know that if my mother were in any form of danger, I would call 911 and then do whatever I could to help her in any way I could. I carry pepper spray and knives, etc. I would at least try. I'm not sure I'd be able to succeed, but I would try my hardest.

THAT IS WHAT...I'm sorry, that is what I'm talking about exactly! At least try! But by his own admission he called 911 from inside his house and then stayed inside said house while presumably watching the beatdown occuring, which is tantamount to cowardice and is the highest form of betrayal in my opinion.

My mom is a goddamn saint and this world does not deserve her, she is my personal hero and every single time I think about this incident without fail my blood pressure raises about 20 points.

 

[Treenbeen]

THAT IS WHAT...I'm sorry, that is what I'm talking about exactly! At least try! But by his own admission he called 911 from inside his house and then stayed inside said house while presumably watching the beatdown occuring, which is tantamount to cowardice and is the highest form of betrayal in my opinion.

My mom is a goddamn saint and this world does not deserve her, she is my personal hero and every single time I think about this incident without fail my blood pressure raises about 20 points.

...Is your mother my mother? Because I feel the same about my mom. She's my best friend, and an amazing woman, and I would die for her, easy.

 

[The I Scream Man]

...Is your mother my mother? Because I feel the same about my mom. She's my best friend, and an amazing woman, and I would die for her, easy.

Look at us, bonding over moms, lol...but yeah mine has put up with tons of bullshit from me, mostly just stressing over me being a slacker and kind of lackadaisical about life, and she's never had an unkind word for anyone (I've heard her cuss maybe a dozen times in my life, mostly directed at me lol) and yeah in Sweetie's shoes I'd have definitely caught major injuries from that group of awful thugs.

 

[Treenbeen]

Look at us, bonding over moms, lol...but yeah mine has put up with tons of bullshit from me, mostly just stressing over me being a slacker and kind of lackadaisical about life, and she's never had an unkind word for anyone (I've heard her cuss maybe a dozen times in my life, mostly directed at me lol) and yeah in Sweetie's shoes I'd have definitely caught major injuries from that group of awful thugs.

Moms are great.

 

[Shadow Fox]

To me it's not just that he refused to do anything to help her, it's that to this day he seems to feel no remorse or shame over it. There is not the slightest doubt in his mind that he was completely in the right to idly peek out the curtains at his mom being savaged by a bunch of hooligans, that there was nothing wrong with him preserving his own worthless hide at his mother's expense, and that everyone who criticizes him for it (read: everyone ever) is getting on his ass for no reason.

I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would freeze up in that kind of situation and probably not do the right and noble thing - but I'm also pretty sure that most of them would regret it and beat themselves up over it for the rest of their lives. That Sweet lacks even that much basic humanity is what, to me, really pushes him over the edge from a pitiable dweeb to a loathsome shitheel.

 

[The I Scream Man]

To me it's not just that he refused to do anything to help her, it's that to this day he seems to feel no remorse or shame over it. There is not the slightest doubt in his mind that he was completely in the right to idly peek out the curtains at his mom being savaged by a bunch of hooligans, that there was nothing wrong with him preserving his own worthless hide at his mother's expense, and that everyone who criticizes him for it (read: everyone ever) is getting on his ass for no reason.

I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would freeze up in that kind of situation and probably not do the right and noble thing - but I'm also pretty sure that most of them would regret it and beat themselves up over it for the rest of their lives. That Sweet lacks even that much basic humanity is what, to me, really pushes him over the edge from a pitiable dweeb to a loathsome shitheel.

Yeah like, I'm a large powerful guy but I know for a fact I'd take some serious damage in a 4 v 1 contest, considering I'm not trained in any martial arts or any form of self defense to speak of beyond having gotten in quite a few fights in my life. I know I probably wouldn't win, and it wouldn't be some kind of epic beatdown where I'd save the day and be the hero and all that, but none of that matters. What matters is she's old and helpless and I am in control of a body that could stop her from suffering damage. That's really it, my future is not predetermined, and thus I have the ability to change said future, even if it's worse for me in the short or long term.

I agree with you @Shadow Fox because the fact that he sits around and has zero (0) remorse for his actions that day, or any other day, are indicative of having no conscience. He's little better than an animal in that respect, A-Logging be damned.

I personally, in the course of writing this article and thus delving deeply into the life of Jonathan M. Sweet, have tried very hard to remain objective in my portrayal of him, but in this instance, with this incident and knowing that by his own admission he did nothing to stop her from suffering permanent damage (she lost vision in an eye and has recurring problems with her upper body, iirc) tugs at my heart strings and takes me on an epic feel trip.

I bet that eye peers into his soul.

 

[MarineTrainedTard]

To me it's not just that he refused to do anything to help her, it's that to this day he seems to feel no remorse or shame over it. There is not the slightest doubt in his mind that he was completely in the right to idly peek out the curtains at his mom being savaged by a bunch of hooligans, that there was nothing wrong with him preserving his own worthless hide at his mother's expense, and that everyone who criticizes him for it (read: everyone ever) is getting on his ass for no reason.

I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would freeze up in that kind of situation and probably not do the right and noble thing - but I'm also pretty sure that most of them would regret it and beat themselves up over it for the rest of their lives. That Sweet lacks even that much basic humanity is what, to me, really pushes him over the edge from a pitiable dweeb to a loathsome shitheel.

This, exactly. That he did nothing to help his mom other than call the police is quite bad. But if now his attitude was "I should've done something, I should've gone out there and tried to help her", he'd still be a coward, but you could at least maybe feel like he's not a total scumbag. But since he's like "The blacks beat up my mom, pity me! Pity me!", he's a disgusting asshole.

 

[The I Scream Man]

This, exactly. That he did nothing to help his mom other than call the police is quite bad. But if now his attitude was "I should've done something, I should've gone out there and tried to help her", he'd still be a coward, but you could at least maybe feel like he's not a total scumbag. But since he's like "The blacks beat up my mom, pity me! Pity me!", he's a disgusting asshole.

Double posting like a boss: if he'd shown even the slightest contrition or remorse for his role in that particular event, I would not be writing this article right now.

 

[Le Bateleur]

This, exactly. That he did nothing to help his mom other than call the police is quite bad. But if now his attitude was "I should've done something, I should've gone out there and tried to help her", he'd still be a coward, but you could at least maybe feel like he's not a total scumbag. But since he's like "The blacks beat up my mom, pity me! Pity me!", he's a disgusting asshole.

I think what Sweet struggles with in general is thinking his experience is typical, when it isn't. Evidence is not the plural of anecdote. A gang of people who were black beat up with mother, but it does not follow that other black people want to do this.

Likewise, what happened to him in college (he got trolled by a proto-Bluespike) is not the typical "college relationship". You will not find one college movie - 90s or otherwise - where the characters have 6 months of phone-play before they meet in person. Or one college rock song on this topic.

 

[MarineTrainedTard]

There's quite a bit of evidence that he seems to have immense trouble with empathy in general, I would say. His belief that he's basically never done anything wrong, and everything must be a conspiracy, because why else would others do these things to me, his bizarre belief about college relationships being conducted by telephone and women calling men's dorms for completely anonymous sex all the time, the fact that he thinks he would have an easier time in college, despite being over a decade older than his potential classmates, etc. From 2012 til this past summer, I worked on (and finished) second BA and had to live on campus, and I felt really out of place being surrounded by lots of 18-20 year olds, and I'm 28 right now. I couldn't imagine being thirty-fucking-five and in the same situation.

 

[Treenbeen]

Yeah like, I'm a large powerful guy but I know for a fact I'd take some serious damage in a 4 v 1 contest, considering I'm not trained in any martial arts or any form of self defense to speak of beyond having gotten in quite a few fights in my life. I know I probably wouldn't win, and it wouldn't be some kind of epic beatdown where I'd save the day and be the hero and all that, but none of that matters. What matters is she's old and helpless and I am in control of a body that could stop her from suffering damage. That's really it, my future is not predetermined, and thus I have the ability to change said future, even if it's worse for me in the short or long term.

I agree with you @Shadow Fox because the fact that he sits around and has zero (0) remorse for his actions that day, or any other day, are indicative of having no conscience. He's little better than an animal in that respect, A-Logging be damned.

I personally, in the course of writing this article and thus delving deeply into the life of Jonathan M. Sweet, have tried very hard to remain objective in my portrayal of him, but in this instance, with this incident and knowing that by his own admission he did nothing to stop her from suffering permanent damage (she lost vision in an eye and has recurring problems with her upper body, iirc) tugs at my heart strings and takes me on an epic feel trip.

I bet that eye peers into his soul.

I'm a 5'7" girl, but I would have tried. I would rather get my ass kicked than let anything happen to my mom.

To me it's not just that he refused to do anything to help her, it's that to this day he seems to feel no remorse or shame over it. There is not the slightest doubt in his mind that he was completely in the right to idly peek out the curtains at his mom being savaged by a bunch of hooligans, that there was nothing wrong with him preserving his own worthless hide at his mother's expense, and that everyone who criticizes him for it (read: everyone ever) is getting on his ass for no reason.

I mean, I'm sure there's a lot of people who would freeze up in that kind of situation and probably not do the right and noble thing - but I'm also pretty sure that most of them would regret it and beat themselves up over it for the rest of their lives. That Sweet lacks even that much basic humanity is what, to me, really pushes him over the edge from a pitiable dweeb to a loathsome shitheel.

Like you said, there's a lot of people who would freeze up, I'm sure it's terrifying! But also like you said, I would never forgive myself if I just stood by.

There's quite a bit of evidence that he seems to have immense trouble with empathy in general, I would say. His belief that he's basically never done anything wrong, and everything must be a conspiracy, because why else would others do these things to me, his bizarre belief about college relationships being conducted by telephone and women calling men's dorms for completely anonymous sex all the time, the fact that he thinks he would have an easier time in college, despite being over a decade older than his potential classmates, etc. From 2012 til this past summer, I worked on (and finished) second BA and had to live on campus, and I felt really out of place being surrounded by lots of 18-20 year olds, and I'm 28 right now. I couldn't imagine being thirty-fucking-five and in the same situation.

That's where I take issue with most of what he does. All of us have been wronged, some worse than others. I could tell you horror stories. But I don't then go an intrinsically hate an entire race of people for the actions of a few, and I don't just stop trying and give up because things have happened to me in the past. It's extremely frustrating, for me at least, when he tries to use things as an excuse for what he does. He can live his life any way he pleases, but shouldn't try to blame others for where he is now, and what he has become. Sure, those experiences changed him, and his life, but he could always make more choices to turn things around. Not everything is out to get him.

 

[Shadow Fox]

There's quite a bit of evidence that he seems to have immense trouble with empathy in general, I would say. His belief that he's basically never done anything wrong, and everything must be a conspiracy, because why else would others do these things to me, his bizarre belief about college relationships being conducted by telephone and women calling men's dorms for completely anonymous sex all the time, the fact that he thinks he would have an easier time in college, despite being over a decade older than his potential classmates, etc. From 2012 til this past summer, I worked on (and finished) second BA and had to live on campus, and I felt really out of place being surrounded by lots of 18-20 year olds, and I'm 28 right now. I couldn't imagine being thirty-fucking-five and in the same situation.

I'm trying, I really am, but I can't think of more than a couple of instances to suggest that he's ever felt sympathy or empathy for other people at all. He mentions doing some nice things for his mom (cooking her favorite meals and so on), and I believe he has/had kept cats, but pretty much everything else that he talks about is how other people hurt him for no reason and he's in the right for painting them as heartless beings of pure evil and wanting everlasting revenge on them.

And I imagine it would be SUPER weird to live on campus at his age. I'm not that much younger than him and I can't imagine living with 18-20somethings. This isn't to say (despite what he seems to want to believe) that he wouldn't be welcome on a college campus if he were attending classes to earn a degree or something - I went back to school in my late twenties and fully half of some of my upper-level English classes consisted of people my age and older, and nobody gave a shit - but it's hella weird and skeezy that he wants to go back to school to live on campus and pick up chicks. I also can't help but think that he imagines college now will be exactly the way it was at half-past 1997, so...he'd be in for a rude awakening.

 

[Treenbeen]

I'm trying, I really am, but I can't think of more than a couple of instances to suggest that he's ever felt sympathy or empathy for other people at all. He mentions doing some nice things for his mom (cooking her favorite meals and so on), and I believe he has/had kept cats, but pretty much everything else that he talks about is how other people hurt him for no reason and he's in the right for painting them as heartless beings of pure evil and wanting everlasting revenge on them.

And I imagine it would be SUPER weird to live on campus at his age. I'm not that much younger than him and I can't imagine living with 18-20somethings. This isn't to say (despite what he seems to want to believe) that he wouldn't be welcome on a college campus if he were attending classes to earn a degree or something - I went back to school in my late twenties and fully half of some of my upper-level English classes consisted of people my age and older, and nobody gave a shit - but it's hella weird and skeezy that he wants to go back to school to live on campus and pick up chicks. I also can't help but think that he imagines college now will be exactly the way it was at half-past 1997, so...he'd be in for a rude awakening.

If he wished to finish his degree, that would be one thing, but I have only ever seen him talk about going back to college for the girls, and his "second shot at love". But then he turns it around and says that those girls are sluts, etc? I don't understand it.

I'm a generally accepting person, and I want to sympathize with him, but I am having trouble doing so when his mindset is so misguided....and would help if I could, but you can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped.

 

[Dilligaff]

Why would he go back to college just to meet girls? Is it because he thinks they're too young and inexperienced to catch on to what a skeeze he is? Is it because he thinks they're slutty enough to put out for anyone that asks? I would think they'd avoid him like the plague (for MANY reasons) with the possible exception of the few who might try to make him into some kind of sugar daddy, but he'd have to actually have money for that. My wittle wosey bwain can't compwehend it!

 

[Shadow Fox]

Why would he go back to college just to meet girls? Is it because he thinks they're too young and inexperienced to catch on to what a skeeze he is? Is it because he thinks they're slutty enough to put out for anyone that asks? I would think they'd avoid him like the plague (for MANY reasons) with the possible exception of the few who might try to make him into some kind of sugar daddy, but he'd have to actually have money for that. My wittle wosey bwain can't compwehend it!

I don't know if he's ever mentioned having a girlfriend after he left college (he's talked about some "lady friends" a few times, but whether they're heartsweets or just gal-pals I have no idea), but it could be that in his mind college=girlfriend and he thinks that's the place he has to be to score some china. Or it could be that he's exhausted all the possibilities at his regular haunts (church and wherever else it is he goes to in town every week) and knows that there will be a veritable smorgasbord of pussy at school. I do think he's under the impression that all college girls are sluts who go to school for no other reason than to have sex with everything that moves, so that probably has a lot to do with it too.

Or maybe he's just one of those sleazeballs who likes the idea of scoring with young girls in lieu of mature women his own age. Kind of OT but my friends have a foster daughter who's going to be heading off to college in a year or so and the idea of some middle-aged creeper perving on her makes me want to vomit with rage.