Comment: Streaming now “JUSSTICE” Season 2, Return to MAGA Country

Finally! It's here! The first two episodes have already dropped. Are you excited?

After a long filming delay due to the whole COVID...thing...world-famous thespian Jussie Smollett returns to the streets where it all began in his titular, nay iconic, starring role in the new season of the still unbelievably smokin' hot drama "JUSSTICE," presented by FOXX.

OMG, it's going to be sooooo good...Judge James Linn has decided to release all the episodes back-to-back-to-back and speed run this baby.

My friends and I are DOORDASHing™ and GRUBHUBbing™ our favorite SUBWAY™ sandwiches all week and ZOOMing™ together during our SOCIALLY DISTANT™ binge watch parties.

It's too bad Jussie didn't have these technologies way back then. It's cold out there, you know...

I waited to comment. Waited, waited, waited, and waited to hear the opening arguments from the defense.

Did you ever know someone who, from a very young age, knew exactly what they wanted to do with their life? Knew exactly who they wanted to be? And then went out and made that life happen?

I had a friend who, for as long as I can remember, wanted to serve in the military and then become a firefighter. He served in the military and became a firefighter. I knew a girl who would tell anyone who’d listen that she was going to marry a tall, dark, and handsome man and raise 4 children, specifically, no more and no less. She’s expecting the fourth as I type this and, yes, her husband is as tall, dark, and handsome as I suspect any woman could wish for. Another only ever wanted to do missions and charity and now, after spending much of their young adult life teaching in impoverished places, are second in charge of an organization continuing that effort.

A life of protection and physical service, motherhood, and education for those less fortunate are all noble causes, to be sure, and perhaps I should look into the correlation between those so determined, but I'm not here to comment on the subjectivity of a noble life. I'm just here to understand the mind of Jussie Smollett.

It's frustrating, to be frank, knowing these types of people. People with such vision and clarity of what they want life to be and then living with such purpose. I suppose it's some sort of envy due to feelings of inadequacy or something or other cloaked in expensive sounding words an even more expensive therapist will wait years to pretend to deduce until after they've tired of hearing my tired stories and they have a wealthy new client to fit into their busy schedule.

See, I never possessed the type of je ne sais quoi required to hone in and focus upon such singular goals as those friends I mentioned. I'm still hesitant to describe or define what I would even call "achievement" in life let alone any that could or that I would want to define my life.

It was so strange for me that when I was young I even almost always felt a little bad for professional athletes. Sad. To be such a physical specimen, so gifted with the unique blends of genetics and ability required that they could likely be great at any number of sport they tried, and forced to only play basketball, for example. To dedicate themselves to their profession and put in the necessary hours to really make it to the peak of their one chosen game was always a concept I struggled with.

Translate that to any number of professions, really, be they in the arts or sciences or business, too.

I've even asked these types, "What was it? How did you know so early? Was there nothing in your life that changed your mind? No events that altered your drive for what IT was that you wanted for yourself?"

Most of those I talk to about this have the similar response of, "Well...no."

I don't get it. There were so many things I wanted to try or do or experience. Even today, there's so little time to get to them all...

Don't misunderstand, I also have friends and know countless others who tried just as hard for that level of a singular goal but failed. Or maybe failed is the wrong word to use? I think maybe better said would be they simply did have something else interrupt their drive and determination for that one thing and they chose to go another direction.

It happens. It's life. As long as you have the strength to deal with the regret and hey, I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention...

I'm just attempting to give you some perspective on the internal dichotomy I think about when I think of Jussie Smollett now, three years removed from the initial incident that began the soap opera that is once again this week brought into our living rooms.

Let's pause for a moment and revisit what's going on.

I know I don't need to go review the catalyst that began this now infamous saga, and I'm not going to spend the time reviewing all the evidence as it's already been outlined many, many places elsewhere, many, many times over the last three years.

Let's only briefly review what happened after Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx dropped Smollett's charges so we can catch up together.

• April 11, 2019

The city of Chicago files a lawsuit seeking to recoup the investigation costs.

• April 15, 2019

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office releases thousands of documents in the Smollett case in response to an open records requests, including a text from Kim Foxx calling Smollett a “washed up celeb” who was overcharged.

• April 23, 2019

The brothers who said they helped Smollett stage the attack file a defamation lawsuit against the actor's attorneys.

• August 23, 2019

A Judge names former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor to investigate why charges against Smollett were dropped.

• February 11, 2020

Webb says grand jury returns six-count indictment against Smollett, accusing him of lying to police.

• February 24, 2020

Smollett pleads not guilty to restored charges.

• October 15, 2021

Judge James Linn denies a last-ditch effort to dismiss the criminal case against Smollett and sets his trial for November 29, 2021.

Now you're up to speed.

Let's continue.

We're at the point where, barring some as-yet-unknown absolute bombshell of evidence that has the man himself looking directly into camera stating point-by-point his motivations and plan, Jussie Smollett will continue his personal parade as persecuted pariah whose only crime was not teaching others how to love as much as he does and pair that with a promise to atone for that sin by teaching them how to be as brave as he can in the face of such shadow. A victim not of his own delusional designs for himself but of the world at large, an icon for all others like him who could have grown up to be him but now won’t have to because of his sacrifice.

I’m jealous, in a way, as I outlined above.

Jussie Smollett, and only Jussie Smollett, could have stopped all of this at any moment over the last three years but he didn't. At any point in time, he could have stopped the charade, said, "I'm sorry," and it likely would have been over but he carried on. For three years he could have been sitting down to a meal, out for a jog in a park, or scrolling the eternal algorithm while sitting on the toilet, stopped to dial the cell phone in his hand and said, "You know what? I screwed up." For three years, he could have been humbled by the thought of those who've suffered real hate crimes, he could have only once imagined a world in which the people he claims to so passionately represent and others he doesn't represent would be damaged by his behavior, and it would have only taken one brief moment where he picked up a newspaper or turned on the television or opened a website and thought of the thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children over the last three years who were forced to live in, amongst, and near the violence that pervades this city's streets and both the unrealized and actualized fear of getting shot and killed often for no reason at all and due to no circumstances of their own.

But he didn't because Jussie Smollett, who grew up surrounded by activists such as the Black Panthers and (strangely) had people as high up as the former First Lady Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff intervene in the situation, clearly believes himself to be so obviously destined from when he was young to be the black, gay, wealthy artist savior of black, gay, wealthy artists.

No, he didn't stop it. He still could. He could stop this trial right now. But he won't.

He won't because if Jussie Smollett did that then, and only then, would he no longer be a victim. And if he were to admit his faults that would make him mortal, just like you and me. That would make him a man.

I'll go further and briefly give Jussie Smollett some benefit of doubt. For a moment, I'll pretend that the Osundairo brothers were simply a pair of ultra-jock weirdos attempting to further their career from the fame of the situation and somehow believed a hate crime would benefit them or show Jussie Smollett just how much they cared about their friendship.

It's an absurd premise but, who knows, people can be really, really...really, really, really...stupid and do things like fake hate crimes to further their careers.

Still, in the scenario where the Osundairo brothers believed this would work, the reality to Smollett afterward would be that he was, thankfully, no longer the victim of an actual hate crime that took place here in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago at 2:00 in the morning in -30 degree temperatures. If that were the case, of course there would be an initial period of shock, fear, and perhaps anger, which I don't intend to minimize but, after that subsided and we're three years removed from the incident there has still been no change in the approach from Smollett. There are no other suspects. The police have a mountain of evidence that something fake occurred. Regardless of Smollett's involvement either way, these two brothers have admitted and outlined their involvement.

If that were truly the case, in the years since he could have taken a position akin to, "What the Osundairo brothers did was profoundly messed up, and I hope they get the justice they deserve," but Smollett did not do that. He's continued to carry that he was the victim of a genuine, abhorrent hate crime when further investigation has already revealed he was not.

Again, if there be a piece of evidence to be found that he was not involved, I don't intend to say that there would not be a period of psychological recovery from such an event. Certainly he'd still be the victim of something, a something to which he could so exploit if he was so inclined, but would he be continue to be the victim of a vile white supremacist/homophobic hate crime in the middle of downtown Chicago that he and others politically pushed as the primary story in the midst of a contentious election environment?

Hardly. But he doubled down on his victimhood, not of a disturbingly weird celebrity stalker duo, but of hate. Hatred of a black, gay man just trying to make it in this world. And, to me, that's the most telling of all.

It’s the type of commitment mentioned above that's required to persevere in the face of, to any normal man, such daunting obstacles. To see obstacles such as evidence, confessions, and the fundamental absurdity of the premise as little more than a hiccup is astonishing. A complete and total clarity of one's conscience, an overflowing, ebulliance of arrogance(?), that not even that can not stop one's destiny to become the savior they know they are.

Truly, I'm jealous.

There is much blame to go around but here's where I'm going to surprise most of my readers, and they know they can email me their disgust.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx was probably right to drop this case. It may be the only thing she's gotten right in her entire tenure.

I know, I know, I know what you're thinking. I didn't want to say it. Really, it was painful. I threw up in my mouth a little bit and had to take 3 shots of whiskey just to type the sentence.

I'll try to explain.

Kim Foxx knew this situation was bull---- from the jump, along with everyone else. Probably the moment she heard it. For all her faults, Kim Foxx is from these streets and these streets don't fall for a story like that.

But...the reality is...Jussie Smollett didn't kill anyone. Jussie Smollett didn't assault anyone or pay anyone to physically assault anyone else. He didn't sell anyone any drugs, he didn't rape anyone, and he didn't steal the famous Subway sandwich. Aw heck, he even paid for the materials he used in his own fake hate crime. Allegedly. I suspect he even chose the coldest night of the year specifically because he thought no one who could potentially intervene or worse would be outside.

The absurdity of the premise washed through the public opinion almost immediately but, ultimately, he's guilty of expressing his political activism in the form of an ill-advised glorified theatre performance that if he had actually just staged some sort of ridiculously premised bit similar to the events that transpired, he'd unironically have been praised high and low by like-minded politically active art critics.

But if bad theatre put people in jail, Chicago would lose at least half its improv scene.

By the time Kim Foxx did drop his case, he was already the butt of the joke which, to a man with a Messiah complex the size of Jussie's, is what hurts the most. Unfortunately for Kim Foxx, even when she was right she messed up in two key places:

1. When Foxx made the decision to drop the charges, she and Tina Tchen and Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris and whomever else was involved in the decision, did not make it clear enough to Jussie Smollett that deals like this come with certain stipulations. They knew how bad this would make him and them look and despite their public statements on the matter, they realized it had to go away. This is Chicago, after all, and political deals are made all the time. But they did not make clear to him that he would be required to apologize for letting politics get the best of him, promise to work with charity organizations in an attempt to make up for it someday, and then shut - the - f*** - up. Lay low for a while. Make it part of the bargain, if you must, but they should have held the thumb down hard and not allowed him to continue to claim the political nonsense.
2. Her entire career prior to this incident. These are the consequences of playing politics with the prosecutor's office. While Jussie was right that he was in friendly confines to his plight, he screwed up choosing to do so in Foxx's jurisdiction. This case blew up far more than it should have because of her prior decisions. Under a normal prosecutor, this type of deal could have largely been swept away or forgotten about easily but Kim Foxx is no normal prosecutor. She's a political activist playing the role of prosecutor. Her previous decision-making placed the spotlight directly on her and Jussie's head and Jussie should be just as mad at her previous and post behavior as he is at the ostensibly horrific injustices infecting the system that allowed him to become a financially secure and rising star entertainer.

But despite Jussie and Kim's consistent and glaring blunders, if one were being honest, once the "harrumphs" and the "guffaws" subsided one would have to admit that much of the pleasure was seeing the political consequences of all the fallout. I admit, I was one of them.

While there is no doubt what Jussie did was profoundly stupid and a breathtaking disservice, to put it politely, to all those who experienced real atrocities before him, he's guilty of being a bad actor and a worse liar and wasting everyone's time.

So how does all of this wrap-up?

Yes, Smollett is likely guilty of lying and wasting time and money. Yes, he's likely guilty of being a dumbass who threw away his career for the wannabe political activism that swirled in and around his entire life in the only way he knew how, seeking attention for himself.

He'll probably be convicted of at least a couple of the six charges against him, all of which are listed as class 4 felonies, the least serious felonies in Illinois. He'll probably have to pay back CPD. Though the charges carry potential prison time of up-to three years, as I mentioned above, since his biggest crime was stupidity I doubt he'll do any hard time. Probation and community service, sure, but no time behind bars.

He probably should do some small time, if only in the hope that he could better understand what real criminals do to real victims and in the hope that it provides a desperately needed wake up call and journey back to reality. But, three years removed, Jussie Smollett is unlikely to change. I'm always hopeful to be proven wrong but I suspect Jussie Smollett will continue all the same.

Despite becoming the butt of jokes everywhere, despite having largely thrown away his entertainment career, and despite being relegated to a wacky footnote or silly trivia question at small bars everywhere, Jussie Smollett hasn't changed his tune in the three years since the incident, or shown an iota of humility facing prosecution. That may be due to bad advice from even worse advisors but, meh, a lamentable part of our society is we're forced to deal with some wackos and weirdos who believe themselves revolutionary playrights sometimes.

I hope he gets some help because no one around him seems to be willing to do it.

I surmise he'll go back to being a wannabe political activist from a wannabe political activist family who've spent the last half century playing wannabe revolutionaries on the fringes of the national stages. Maybe he'll join up with the Black Panthers like his mother, maybe draw a decent salary from some obscure "non-profit" like Black Lives Matter, and maybe he'll pop up from time-to-time for the cameras and the assembled reporters will mention him here and there and the size of that gaggle will slowly dwindle as the years drag on.

No matter what or where he turns up, the little blurb about all of this will follow him the rest of his life, even to his obituary. And there, too, I expect to see the descriptor: "Jussie Smollett, victim..."

Just what he always wanted to be.