The Dark Side of Professional Wrestling: The Tragedy of Chris Benoit

 (Warning: Reference of suicide ahead)

 

                  As I have iterated in the past piece related to the sport of Professional Wrestling, that this sport, in reality is part soap opera and part combat sports, although those who held wrestling championship titles treated as equally legitimate as other branches of combat sport like boxing and mixed martial arts. Although mostly scripted, pro wrestling can (and sometimes inevitably) cross over to the real life, even though in the old days the lines between kayfabe and real life is often enforced. It could also lead so some real consequences as a result of constantly putting bodies (and sometimes even lives) on the line for the sake of entertaining the fans (that's why former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) chairman Vince McMahon coined the term "sports entertainment" to emphasize this element). Some names suffered this after constantly performing high-risk moves and taking brutal bumps, especially if the wrestler in question is known for their hardcore antics, like a Mick Foley or New Jack type of guy.

 

                  But this one is probably the most tragic and controversial case that's ever come out from this world of highfliers and brutal bruisers. There are many true crime cases that involved one or multiple professional wrestlers, each with their own story to tell. But this one is so controversial in light of the circumstances, one wrestling promotion subsequently omitted and erased his name and accomplishments from the history books. Of course, I'm talking about the tragic life and death of one Chris Benoit. The Montreal, Quebec, Canada native was born Christopher Michael Benoit on the 21st of May 1967, but mostly spent his childhood in Edmonton, Alberta. His fascination with the world of wrestling was evident from the early age, as he already idolized Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington and wrestling hall of famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart. At the tender age of 12, he began his wrestling training under the tutelage of Bret's father Stu Hart in his famous Hart family Dungeon in Calgary, often hailed as one of the best wrestling schools in the world, as it's run by the Hart Dynasty. As a result, Benoit's style has the reference of both Billington and Hart, he even used the latter's submission move "The Sharpshooter" as one of his finishing maneuvers.

 

                  After his stint at the Dungeon, Benoit wrestled in Stu's promotion, Stampede Wrestling. His wrestling style at the time was similar with The Dynamite Kid, as he adopted several moves like the diving headbutt (a move that would cost him later down the road) and the snap suplex. He debuted in a tag team match on the 22nd of November 1985 teaming up with "The Remarkable" Rick Patterson against Butch Moffat and Mike Hammer. He later won the Stampede Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship in 1988, and also held 4 International Tag Team and three British Commonwealth titles. After Stampede closed its doors, Benoit went to New Japan Pro Wrestling, and subsequently trained in the "New Japan Dojo" with the young guns to further polished his abilities. In this promotion, he was one of the wrestlers who feuded with another wrestling legend, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He also won Best of the Super Juniors tournament twice, as well as the Inaugural Super J-Cup tournament in 1994. Bear in mind, while being contracted with New Japan, he also wrestled in places like Mexico and Europe, he even won the UWA Light Heavyweight Championship.

 

                  Sometime during his stint at New Japan, Benoit was also working with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and worked in several matches, one in particular was a tag team match that put himself and fellow Canadian Biff Wellington against Brian Pillman and Jushin Liger, their first meeting outside of New Japan. It was in this promotion, where he returned in 1995, where he was approached by "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair to be a part of the New Four Horsemen stable alongside himself, Pillman and Arn Anderson. It was also here where Chris met his future wife Nancy, at the time married to WCW booker Kevin Sullivan, which whom he was feuding with. At first, the "affair" started as an on-screen angle involving all three parties, but then evolved into a real-life affair between Nancy and Chris. This angered Sullivan, and this affair was used to leverage their on-screen feud. Aside from Sullivan, he also feuded with several wrestlers like Booker T, and won several titles, including the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

 

                  He also worked for Paul Heyman (then known as Paul E. Dangerously) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) where he was the main booker, at the time the only promotion in America who allowed weapons and foreign objects in matches, where he received the moniker "The Crippler" from Heyman after putting Rocco Rock out. But this nickname is further solidified after a freak botch involving Sabu where he accidentally broke the hardcore legend's neck during the opening seconds of the match. Sadly, the only title he won was the ECW World Tag Team Championship with Dean Malenko and was forced out of the company when his work visa expired and failed to be renewed in time by Heyman. He returned to ECW in 2007, now part of WWE after being drafted to the brand. He was supposed to compete for the ECW Championship but didn't show up because of a "family emergency" (this will be relevant later), and he was replaced by John Hennigan (At this point known as Johnny Nitro) who won instead.

 

                  Benoit's exit from WCW became WWE (then World Wrestling Federation/WWF) gain, as he joined the promotion during the end of the Attitude Era. along with his friends Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Malenko, also WCW alumni, he formed and debuted the heel stable known as The Radicalz. Benoit's first championship was the Intercontinental Championship which he won in a two-fall triple threat match at Wrestlemania 2000 pitted him against Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle, with both the latter's Intercontinental and European titles at stake. In this two-fall event, Benoit and Jericho pinned each other, the first one with Benoit winning, and the second one where Jericho won. This is a rare occurrence where a defending champion lost their championship twice in a multi-man match without conceding a single pinfall. Honestly, I hate being Kurt Angle at that time. But this is not the only Wrestlemania he participated and won a championship. At Wrestlemania XX in Madison Square Garden, New York, he won big by securing the World Heavyweight Championship (Former WCW World Heavyweight Championship) by submitting Triple H with his patented submission move the Crippler Crossface. Other titles he won was the WWE Tag Team Title (4 times total) with Angle, Jericho and Egde, and the WWE United States Championship (3 times).

 

                  Back to the ECW incident, Benoit was supposed to work in a match where he would have been won the ECW Championship by defeating CM Punk as indicated by WWE executive Stephanie McMahon but was a no-show due to a "family emergency".  Chavo Guerrerro, the Late Eddie Guerrero's nephew tried to call Benoit through his phone and his American residence in Fayetteville, Georgia, but didn't respond. At this point, Chris already in deep sadness after losing Eddie, who was his best friend in 2005 due to a cardiac arrest that cut his wrestling career agonizingly short. Due to this no-show, WWE requested a welfare check on Benoit and his family, where on the 25th of June 2007, Chris, along with Nancy and his 7-year-old son Daniel was found dead in his own home. The day after the deaths, WWE put together a tribute show on one episode of Monday Night Raw focusing on Benoit's accomplishments, and doing so, also overshadows another angle involving Vince himself under the character of Mr. McMahon, who in kayfabe died in a limousine explosion. But after the circumstances became clear, WWE swiftly disavowed him by deleting all of his archived matches, refused to acknowledge his name and title reigns, and censored any references about Benoit. To this day, the name Chris Benoit became some sort of a taboo, and he is also denied a spot at the WWE Hall of Famer.

 

                  During the three-day period, it was revealed that Nancy and Daniel were killed on the first two days, with Chris took his own on the third day. Toxicology report indicated that Nancy had xanax, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone which were found at the therapeutic levels, Daniel's results had xanax, which indicated a sedation attempt before the killing by suffocation, and Chris was found to have xanax, hydrocodone, and elevated testosterone levels, indicating an extensive steroid use. But further investigations found no connection between Benoit's body and the double murder-suicide. There are some theories on why Benoit did it in the first place, it might be because of his grief of losing Eddie Guerrero that led into a long depression, or some "roid rage" claims, but the most plausible theory was when Chris' brain was examined by neurosurgeon at West Virginia University with the blessings of Chris' father Michael Benoit, who found an extensive brain damage resembling an 85-year-old Alzheimer patient. He was also reported to have an advance form of dementia, but most importantly, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a neurodegenerative disease linked to multiple traumas to the head. This theory is supported by the fact that Benoit himself primarily used the diving headbutt, which is a move involving him jumping off the top rope using his head to finish off opponents,  and also many bumps he took during his career, often involving chairshots to the head, which has been banned since. 

 

                  Chris Benoit was a pro wrestler who has achieved everything imaginable in the wrestling industry. His work as an in-ring performer regarded as one if not the best the world has ever seen. Hell, some wrestling legends regarded him as one of the best that ever laced a pair of boots, but what he did during the last moments of his life that destroyed everything for him. In another life, he might have been a member of the WWE Hall of Famer and regarded as one of the legends of the Squared Circle, but after this tragic murder-suicide, his name is erased forever, buried deep inside the pro wrestling lore, never to be discovered again. The tragic occurrence of the Benoit family serves as a harrowing reminder that professional wrestling, no matter how heavily scripted they are, still presents a real physical and mental consequences bore by the wrestlers we come to know and love. There is a reason the phrase "don't try this at home" was put up during any wrestling program, is to prevent any occurrences like this from happening again.

Online Fintech Lending (and Gambling) Is a Pain in The Ass

 (Warning: Strong languages and rants ahead)

 

                  Imagine yourself working hard day and night to earn a decent living wage to either sustain yourself or to fulfill your dreams of buying stuff or go on your dream vacation using your hard-earned money. You might be feeling rewarded after all those work that you put in day in and day out. Now imagine that same money, instead going into some sketchy things like online gambling. Even worse, you lost substantial amount of money on those online gambling sites and ended up taking online loans. Now that is a recipe for disaster.

 

                  I want to stress two things in this piece: One, your financial condition is the product of your own management. And two, everything nowadays needs money, even just for menial things. Nowadays, with recent technological innovations, you can easily access your bank accounts from your smartphone. And that includes getting a loan. Online lending has become a recent trend in today's financial world. This can roughly be traced to the recent pandemic, where the world suddenly stopped running itself. When money is tight, and you need a quick buck, you can just download an app that allows you to access quick loan for a decent amount of money with various payment options. This can also apply to online shopping, specifically with the "buy now pay later" scheme. 

 

                  Sure, this will ease the burden of paying right away for purchases or for someone who in dire need for a quick buck in tight situations, but there is a dark, disturbing and possibly disgusting underbelly that has plague this section of the financial industry. Since the lenders and the lending party are anonymous, some criminal-minded asswipes would purposely take some loan and proceeded to not pay the loan. And that is probably the worst thing that could happen if you are the one who is giving the loan, but this is not what we are here for. 

 

                  Let me just say this to set this up for you dear readers: ONLINE FINTECH LENDING IN INDONESIA IS A CESSPOOL FULL OF MONEY-HUNGRY CAPITALISTS AND HEARTLESS DEBT COLLECTORS. There, I said it. Online lending is by far the most accessed financial service in Indonesia, which is in itself, is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan/OJK). You might be thinking, since it's regulated, these online fintech companies can just adjust their rates to the regulation, right? You are DEAD. FUCKING. WRONG. Even when the relevant organization is established to regulate themselves, the AFPI, or Asosiasi Fintech Pendanaan Bersama Indonesia (Indonesian Fintech Lending Association), these heartless motherfuckers behind these online lending apps always find their way to terrorize their customers.

 

                  There are two ways online lending apps did to trap their customers. One, is to formulate an interest rate that looks convincing enough that the consumer who got attracted started using their services, usually for extra cash to buy anything and everything imaginable. Currently, the interest rate is at 0,4%. But here's the kicker: The app can set whether that 0,4% can be applied daily, monthly, or even weekly. This then, allow the total fund to be returned to snowball to a point of impossibility. Imagine you borrow IDR1 million, only to find the number swelling to around IDR 3 to 4 million after interest. And that's not all, sometimes, the payment window can be set to the minimum time possible. Making the customer's effort to pay all those debts even harder. They then, were forced to seek another loan to pay off those debts, and when the payment is due, they scrambled to find another lending app to pay off another debt, not realizing that the debt could only grow rather than shrink. It's like digging a hole to cover up another hole.

 

                  And what happens when the customers fail to pay them on time? Debt collectors then spawn from the deepest parts of hell. Supposedly, debt collectors are task to remind the customers of their payments and/or collect those payments face to face. Then, what's the kicker then? These collectors often use their position to terrorize their customers into paying their debts, often with a mounting interest. And these bastards are quite heartless as well. There are too many cases of online debt-related suicide over the past 4 years. All with similar motives: They are tired of being hunted by debt collectors and their own debts. I can still recall a sensational case that once went viral on X (Twitter) about a man who took his own life over his debt. The story went like this: The man borrowed roughly IDR9 million through Adakami, one of the "legal" fintech apps under OJK, only to discover that the fund he needed to return snowballed so much, it was twice as the initial loan, at IDR18 million. It was speculated that either the interest rates or the administration fee that were manipulated so extensively to cause that number to increase. Knowing this, the man tried to pay off all those debts, but soon find himself out of money. And that's where the calls started. Initially the calls only come to him or his family, but somehow, the collectors managed to reach his place of employment, causing him to be fired unceremoniously. And instead of stopping, the Adakami debt collectors then deploy their sinister tactics, by flooding this man's address with fictitious online food orders, online shopping packages, even some mundane services like the waste management and even fire fighters and ambulances. The neighbors were kind enough to take those orders, but good things can't last, and in the end, the man took his own life because of the massive debt. But even after his death, the collectors still terrorize his family. If that does not constitute someone's behavior as heartless, I don't know what is.

 

                  And this is not limited with apps that only have online collectors. Field collectors can cause massive damages as well. Some apps have commissioned either internal field collectors or third-party vendors to assist them. And usually, these ones that cause a massive pain the ass. One time, a bunch of field collectors once camped outside a debitor's house to demand the payment of their debts, often causing distress to the consumers themselves. And they are willing to dumb themselves enough for the sake of a bonus paycheck to degrade, harass, even insult the debitors. Some of these fellas often not certified and only paid cheaply. And once they got arrested for causing a disturbance, the fintech app that hire them would swiftly disavow them. Those who do work for them often got away with a slap on the wrist, ready to torment another person for another day.

 

                  But what does is the correlation between these assholes and online gambling? Back to the statement early, quick buck for quick buck is needed for someone to participate in online gambling. They started small, and after gathering a good amount of winnings, they started to bet bigger and bigger, until they realize that they lost too much, they need quick cash to continue playing. This is where online fintech entered the fray. The player thought by borrowing an innocent amount of money, they can win back the loss, only to suffer more loss and their debts piling up. And when they realized that they would never win anything back and becoming addicted as they did it, it would be too late. Debts piling up and they have to sell everything to cover their loss, while destroying themselves and their families in the process. Granted, these people got into online gambling through influences by other people, often times through ads on social media. Not only that, but several recent investigations also revealed that there are major players that associate themselves with this illegal online gambling sites, mostly government official and even some law enforcement brass. The sad part is the majority of online gambling players are blue collar workers and those who fell below the poverty line. A combination of those factors could only lead to disaster of epic financial proportions.

 

                  I have friends who are either currently battling or already paid off their debts, and most of them are online fintech debts. I can’t help them all the time, but I can relate to some experiences, since I lend some money to some people in the past. Some paid me back, some didn't. But to waste all of your hard-earned cash on online gambling and turn into online lending, both legal and illegal, is nothing short of a stupid, destructive move you've ever done. Save your money for important events and stop screwing around with things like gambling.

A Little Insight into My "World"

 

(Warning: Strong languages, mentions of self-harm and suicide ahead)

 

 

Quite frankly, I don't want to sit and write this. But this has been a burden on my side, and I want to release it once and for all. Everyday, every minute I really wished that I would be someone walking in the background, unnoticed, undetected. Sometimes I even wish that I don't really exist. I simply wished that I was never born at all. I don't expect you to understand, but for me, I would rather stay in my bedroom for hours doing things that would please myself, rather than engaging with the society. Don't get me wrong, I still have family, friends, even a girlfriend. But sometimes, being alone, or spend some time with the one that would love you unconditionally and no questions asked is the best way to escape the burden of being alive.

 

During my childhood, I was a misfit. Even if I wanted to play with some of my colleagues, all I get was rejection or a cold shoulder. I spent most of my childhood living with my grandmother, and to this day, she is the only one I feel most comfortable with. If my grandpa would still be here, he would have been the second person that I can freely interact with. I never understand how friendship works, and how to manage it. Hell, I don't even know what I was back then and to this day, no matter how much I try; I am still struggling getting know of myself personally. Overtime, all I know is I might have massive number of friends or relatives, I always a lonely person inside. My grandma said to me once that it's like I am living inside my own bubble. And frankly, I'm okay living inside this bubble, as long as I'm comfortable with it. Most of my years of my life, this "world" that I'm living at is mine and mine alone. But thanks to certain someone special, she is now part of my world, my inner bubble. The one that I can freely express my thoughts and grievances about life.

 

The fact that I have an untreated mental condition doesn't help the case either. As far as I remember, I never visit a single psychiatrist apart from the time I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 5 years old. Everything that I do must always be wrong in the view of others, even my parents. I have always wanted to tell you this, but I guess that all those words that coming from my mouth are useless to you apparently, but I am struggling to control this otherwise uncontrollable physical body and this brain of myself. It's involuntary, and the urge is sometimes irresistible. The impulse is out of control. Not to mention that in the heat of the moment, when my mind is so focused on one thing, several other important things are pushed to the side. As a result, I can be quite forgetful of those things. But I am now come to terms that I am always an idiotic waste of space. Yes. I am an idiot. I just happen to be an idiot with a bachelor’s degree. I'm not lazy, I'm just an idiot. Not that it would matter anyway. Afterall, I only do things for the sake of others, not me. And I'm fine with that. 

 

My relationship with my parents is kind of an up-and-down affair. Sometimes we get civil with each other, but most of the time, it's tiring with all the scolding, shouting and any of that "tough love" bullshit. Especially with my father. For him, there is something wrong with whatever I do. Even some chores I did must always have some flaw. Like the floor that is not clean enough (but let's face it, my father is a MASSIVE clean freak). My mother on the other hand, when it comes to personal relationship, is more like "just a friend" type. We rarely talk about much unless it's about important matters. Moreover, since I lived with my grandma for the most of my childhood, I rarely meet them. They are either working or study in college (my mother was a medical student when she got married). So, in return, I never feel really close with them emotionally. There is a lot of emotional distance developed between them and me. I guess my brother has better luck when it comes to this, huh? Good for him. That's why I prefer to shut myself out. You can't get scolded for doing something wrong if you didn't do anything in the first place, right? Sometimes, when I get scolded (or yelled at, with a tiny sprinkle of threats of violence), I thought, "If you don't want a kid like me with all this disability or doesn't want anything to do with me in the first place, just tell me. I would gladly take my own life by stabbing my chest with a knife straight to the heart, for the sake of liberating you from this humongous burden." Hell, I always have this urge to at least bang my head as hard as humanly possible to a nearest wall, preferring some sharp edges, so I can cut myself more quickly and easily. But I guess that won't kill me fast enough. But yeah, if you are tired of me, I'll just kill myself then. Afterall, I'm nothing but a dead weight.

 

"But they are your parents." Yes, they are. But loving parents don't spew threats of violence just because of some garbage that I forgot to put away because of sudden distracting impulse that I can't control. Loving parents don't constantly compare two siblings just because the other one is "squeaky clean and an accomplished kid" and the other one is "a useless waste of space". If this is what it turned out to be, I'd rather be aborted as a fucking fetus than being born this way. Nobody was asked to be born. I didn't ask to be born. In this case. I'd rather be alone in a crowded space than being in the same place as my parents to be completely frank. 

 

Naturally, with every single shit that I have to endure, I had to seek some external output just to temporarily relieve myself from my home life. From plucking fingernails to the point of constant bleeding to practically seeking pleasures outside of home become the main part of my life. Hell, on weekdays, especially when my father is around, I've always made sure to leave the house to work a bit early and go back from work a bit late. So that at least I have as minimal interaction as possible. 

The Superclasico: How a Football Rivalry Divided a city

            Ah, Argentina. The birthplace of tango, Argentinian barbeque, and two footballing geniuses of Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. It is no secret that when it comes to football in South America, this country, along with neighbor Brazil manage to establish themselves as giants of the world game. In fact, Argentina is the current world champion, having snatched the cup away from France last year in Doha, Qatar. You could say that football is engrained in every Argentinian, so much so, that even a simple football match can pretty much divide a nation.

 

            You might wonder, "how the hell does a football match do that?" The answer lies on the two teams whom we will discuss in this piece. I've told a bit about football rivalries when discussing the Kanjuruhan Stadium Disaster in the back of Indonesia's East Java Super Derby, but this rivalry would make the previous one seems a lot tamer; hell, even the famous El Clasico is no match for a football fixture of this magnitude. 

 

            Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the superclásico de futbol Argentino. or the superclásico as it's known to the world. This football fixture involves two teams hailing from the same side of the capital Buenos Aires, in specific, a barrio (neighborhood) called La Boca, which is known as the working-class people of the docklands of southern Buenos Aires. A little history lesson from yours truly: if you take a little peek at most of Argentina's population, you will find most of them had roots from Italy, specifically the Italian immigrants who settled in Argentina, and La Boca happens to be that one area with the most Italian diaspora. 

 

            Back to the topic at hand, two teams hailed from this part of the city, which is Club Atletico River Plate (River Plate) founded in 1901, taking their name from Rio de la Plata, and Club Atletico Boca Juniors (Boca Juniors), founded in 1905, and bearing the barrio's name. Both teams were formed in La Boca, but then, River Plate move to the more northern part of Buenos Aires, to a more upper-class neighborhood of Nuñez in 1925. Since then, Boca is known as the working-class club for the people, and adding to their Italian roots, they earned the nickname Xeneize (Genoese), reffering to their roots as Italian immigrants from Genoa. Whilst River Plate is known for their more upper-class fanbase, since they resided in Nuñez, and have a spending habit on signing players, they are known as Los Millonarios (The Millionaires). Despite this, nowadays you can find supporters of both teams on every societal level. Boca Juniors play their home games at the Alberto Jose Armando Stadium or known most commonly as La Bombonera (Spanish for the chocolate box due to the unusual shape), while River Plate call the Monumental Stadium (El Monumental) home. Boca's club colors are blue and yellow, while River Plate sports white and red.

 

            Both teams are known as two of the biggest teams in Argentinian football, sharing over 144 championships both in domestic and continental levels. Among those championships, River currently has more league titles (38 to 35 of Boca's), but Boca collected more Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) trophies (Boca's six to River's four) and more national cups. But beyond the prestige, there is one distinction that River holds but Boca has not: River Plate is currently the only club from the two to ever be relegated to the second division. River suffered this crushing defeat and relegation in 2011, by suffering a 3-1 defeat over two legs against Belgrano, which placed 4th in the National B Division (Belgrano defeated River 2-0 and drew 1-1 at El Monumental). Since then, River promoted themselves back to the Premier Division in 2012 and claimed multiple honors on the span of 7 years. Along the way, they collected two Copa Libertadores titles, 1 Copa Sudamericana title, and one Argentinian Super Cup. When it comes to overall head-to-heads, in 260 official matches across many competitions, both in domestic and continental level, Boca Juniors currently holds the advantage over River Plate, with 91 wins over 86 of River's, with 83 of those occasions where they share the spoils. Boca also lead in total goals scored, 334 to 317.

 

            Then what makes this rivalry so famous then? The answer is passion. Argentinians have an undying passion for football, especially when it comes to two of the biggest teams in the country. At the very least, many supporters of both sides have come up with various (and mostly degrading) nicknames for each other, as well as showing their supports to their own teams. When it comes to supporters of their own sides, they claim to represent not just the entire Buenos Aires, but also all of Argentina, with Boca fans calling themselves La Mitad Más Uno (Half Plus One), and River fans call themselves El País Menos Algunos (A Country Minus a Few). It is another story when it comes to the opposing sides, with Boca fans called River Plate las gallinas (chicken) due to the perception that River players lacked guts, supposedly given after River Plate's 1966 Copa Libertadores finals series loss to Uruguayan side Peñarol, and River fans called Boca Juniors either los chanchitos (little pigs) or bosteros (manure collectors) due to the claim that the area near La Bombonera always smells of bodily waste, and also the existence of a polluted river in La Boca. In every season, a fixture where River Plate is due to play Boca Juniors, there is a sense of anticipation and an air of tense glaring both neighborhoods; and every match is guaranteed a classic, from goals to growing tensions both on and off the pitch. Hell, even their playing philosophies are drastically different. River Plate tend to stick to the fundamentals, bringing the beautiful game for the spectacle. For them, a victory is only a victory if earned with honor, whilst Boca tend to have this "anything goes" mentality when playing their football. For Boca, the end result matters, no matter how clean or how dirty they have to play to achieve those results.And when the match took place, expect passion, drama, and outright hostility from both sets of fans. Hell, some of them can be described as utter chaos, like the Gate 12 Tragedy (Puerta 12 in Spanish) in 1968, where 71 lives were claimed and left 150 more injured, as a result of a stampede at gate 12 of El Monumental. There are many versions of the recounts as told by many eyewitnesses, and all involving several fans of either side acting aggressively to their opposing counterparts. 

 

            I've mention that the superclasico is the most famous football derby in the world, but what would happen if they threw a trophy into the mix? That was the case of the 2018 Copa Libertadores Final. Both Boca and River reach the final stage, which was contested over two-legged matches at the time, with the side with the most combined goals over two legs get their hands on the Libertadores title. The first leg, played at La Bombonera ended in a 2-2 draw, which means the title contention is still pretty much anyone's game. But by the time the second leg rolled around, slated to be played at El Monumental, chaos broke, as River fans bombarded Boca's player bus with various projectiles, even at one point broke some of the glass to allow pepper spray to enter the cabin. After much consideration from CONMEBOL, the second leg venue was moved to Madrid, more specifically the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home of 14-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid, much to both River and Boca's chagrins. Despite all the setbacks, it was inside this hallow Madrid ground where River Plate prevailed with a 3-1 win after extra time (5-3 on aggregate). River would enter another Copa Libertadores final the next year, now played as a single game in neutral ground in a losing effort against Flamengo of Brazil, played in Lima, Peru. Boca Juniors would enter another final in 2023, and again losing to a Brazilian team, in this case Fluminense at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. 

 

            The selection of Madrid as the second leg final venue sparks an irony of its own, which deserves a piece of its own. But in a nutshell, "Copa Libertadores" literally translates to "The Liberator's Cup", owning its name to the leaders of the Latin American Wars of Independence who fought to liberate the region from Spain. It's important to note that both River Plate and Boca Juniors appealed this decision, along with Boca's another appeal to have River disqualified, which went bust.

 

            So, what do I think about this legendary rivalry? Consider that this is happening in Argentina, I have to say that the passion of the fans is unlike anything I've seen since I decided to follow football full time. From the north to the south, Buenos Aires have an undying football scene, and all thanks to both River Plate and Boca Juniors. I've watched some Copa Libertadores on my spare time, and I would love to watch some again to experience the atmosphere of South American football.

Marissa Matthews: The Fat Woman with the World's Biggest Victim Complex

 (Warning: Strong languages and rants ahead)

 

 

            To start this piece, let's recap (again) about what body positivity movement, or at the very least, what REAL body positivity really is. It's a movement aimed for people born with different bodies as a result of either a genetic condition, body forms, and irreparable injuries, be it amputations, scars from either fire or various accidents. That being said, according to some people, fat bodies should be included inside the body positivity agenda, aimed to destigmatize fat people amongst the societal life. In paper, this is a noble cause, but in reality, this is a total trainwreck. I have to apologize in advance, because in this piece, I'm about to go loose cannon on this subject matter.

 

            And from this movement, which nowadays resembles more like a undrivable shitbox of a rusty car rather than a well-oiled machine akin to a Le Mans Hypercar, came slew of "fat activists" who honestly, weigh more than all 20 Formula 1 drivers combined. (In)famous names like Virgie Tovar, Tess Holliday, even a shit-for-brains nutritionist Linda Bacon (I know she goes by the name of Lindo Bacon and the "they/them" pronouns but fuck it) who first coined the term "health at every size", which in Mortal Kombat terms, is like the Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn of body positivity/fat acceptance movements. Some of them don't even used the term "fat bodies", instead opted to use "marginalized bodies". I have to say this to open your eyes, BUT YOU ARE THE MOST PRIVILEGED CLASS OF THIS WORLD, YOU FUCKING LARDASS. 

 

            Onto the subject of this piece, and the information are a lot scarce than I anticipated. But this living cannonball is infamous for her horrible takes (some even said that it's either downright hilarious or offensive) when it comes to body positivity. Her name is Marissa Matthews, and she is from Ottawa, Canada. She is most active on TikTok (God, not this forsaken app again), with most of her content consist of either "what I eat in a day" videos, flaunting her flabby bits or responding to "hate speech" and "fatphobia" with real hate speech and body shaming. Her mouth is deadlier than the Chernobyl nuclear powerplant, the Fukushima nuclear reactor, the Merapi volcano and the supertanker oil spill combined.

 

            Let's take a look at some of her takes on body positivity, and I have to remind you, dear readers, that I have burned millions of my brain cells just to provide this for your entertainment. On one video, she replied to one of the comments from someone who lost weight after living their life as a fat kid reminding her of the long-term danger of obesity by saying "I don't care about you or your life... your experience does not warrant harassing me with unwanted health advice and your opinion on my body". First of all, you pea brain, they just wanted to share their experience to REMIND you of how dangerous being fat in the long run, not to harass your privileged, fat ass! 

 

            One of her signature bad takes is the difference between fat shaming and skinny shaming. According to her, fat shaming is rooted in systemic oppression, whether racism, homophobia, transphobia, and all of those leftist trigger words that other "activists" like to spew, while skinny shaming is simply bullying. Other takes including that the body positivity movement is founded by black LGBT fat people, hence those bogus connections. I have to call bullshit on that, because falling too far on either side of the scale is as equally dangerous as the other one. If you are too skinny, or even anorexic for that matter, is dangerous due to low food and energy intake to the point of constant starvation. In short, being too skinny could kill you if you underfeed yourself. What you perceive as "skinny", is what we as a normal society called "fit" or "normal". Whilst being too fat is equally dangerous, partly because instead of underfeeding, you overfed yourself and never paid any attention to your daily calorie intake. If you passed a point of no return, it would slowly kill you through complications on your body as a result of piling body fat. And for the second take, body positivity is meant to support EVERYONE WHO FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE INSIDE THEIR OWN SKIN. I have to reiterate that the movement, in its face and core values, meant for everyone with different bodies as a result of genetic deformities or disabilities be it from accidents or irreversible injuries. And the movement also open for literally everyone, whether black or white, straight, or gay or bisexual, and for everyone across the globe. Apparently, Marissa's head is so far up her own ass, that anything or everything she perceived is viewed through the lens of "fatphobia" would be deemed as such, even if the comments she read is as harmless as a falling leaf.

 

            And I guess that's just her brand of content, responding to some comments (remember, these comments are in no means harmful, just some PSA on the dangers of obesity with a bit of harmless trolling sprinkled on the side) with pure hatred, malice, and nonchalantly harass other people with differing opinions (and body size with various degrees of real disabilities) and brand them in one fell swoop as fatphobic. And this, in turn, landed her in trouble multiple times with TikTok, who deleted some of her comments for harassment and bullying. And what did she do? She blamed it on the app for deleting her comment and the commenter for getting her own comment axed for harassment. Yeah, talk about grace and poise right there. She is also a bit fucked in the head when it comes to the definition of "boundaries and consent". She loves to preach about those two topics, but in reality, she's a double standard holding bitch who apparently doesn't bother to respect other people's boundaries and always have her two cents about her "valid opinions" for those who do not want them. And she delivers them unsolicited. I can safely say that she has a planetary-sized victim complex if I've ever seen one. 

 

            And you are probably thinking, "is this woman even serious?" And unfortunately, she is as serious as she come. And come to think of it, at least some of the "fat activists" currently plaguing this God's green Earth is "strong and independent boss babes", but not poor Marissa Matthews. She is the exact opposite of the mantra, despite her manhole of a mouth spewing otherwise. She is actually a 27-year-old unemployed sloth who lives with her mother. And to top it all off, her mother is a textbook example of an enabler. Yes, we are dealing with a dependent fat woman and her enabling mother who sees nothing wrong in her "poor little baby". I know I said something about a mother's unconditional love, I discussed it while talking about Achraf Hakimi, which is a totally different story, but the way I see it, it's not love, it's borderline abuse. The mother literally set Marissa up for failure and an early death. 

 

            I really want to talk more about this trainwreck of a woman, but I am too burnt out to even consider continuing my research for this piece, not while losing more brain cells and IQ points along the way. All I can say is that Marissa Matthews is a textbook example of an ignorant, privileged fat activist who sees everything in one dimension, and dismissing other opinions by framing them as "fatphobia", while also weaponize her victim complex to avoid responsibility, even when the evidence is clear, and all stacked against her. Remember, if you want to be wherever you are, be my guest. But don't force your opinion on someone just because you view yourself as the most important person on the Internet. And one more thing. Don't be Marissa Matthews. She's one big bad influence.

Daniel Larson: The Next Chris Chan?

 (Warning: Strong languages, graphic references, and disturbing materials ahead)

 

 

            Well, let's get back to everyone's favorite internet subject: lolcows. If I have to be frank, this subject is one of my favorites to write, discussing several internet personalities who are famous for all the wrong reasons. But nevertheless, it's always an interesting topic to dive into, because you never know the full extent of the story until you research it yourself. Last time out, Chris Chan (born Christopher Chandler, now Christine Chandler) was the main subject when it comes to (in)famous lolcows. But then, came one man from Colorado, USA, who might be in par or maybe even worse than Chris Chan himself.

 

            Say hello to Daniel Larson. He was born on the 15th of November 1998 in Lancaster, California. Despite this, he is mostly based in Denver, Colorado. To say that he has a turbulent childhood would be an understatement, as he grew up in an abusive and neglectful home, fueled by his abusive mother and a possibly neglectful and enabling father. at age 11, he was separated from his parents to live with his grandmother, who is also allegedly enabling him. He was placed in Tennyson Center for Children as a means of rehabilitation until he was 14 years old. When it comes to his mental state, Larson has "a laundry list" of mental conditions according to his father, ranging from ADHD, autism, intellectual disability, bipolar disorder, and allegedly, even schizophrenia. For years, he was taken care by his grandmother up until her passing in 2019. And ever since, he's spending most of his time jumping from housing to housing, sometimes sleeping at the side of the road, as he is effectively homeless.

 

            Behind all those problems, young Daniel Larson still has some aspirations with his life, mainly for music and sports, but he is obsessed by the former so much, his other endeavors left abandoned to the side. He is also active on several social media platforms, most notably TikTok. His online escapades cemented himself inside the lolcow pantheon, similar to Chris Chan and Chance "Cyrax" Wilkins. There are two reasons why Larson is consistently trolled by the Internet, one of which is his music "career." Primarily, he used his TikTok account to document his escapades along the state of Colorado, all the way to California, and to say that those videos are pretty odd is saying it at the very least. 

 

            There are two main sagas that put Daniel Larson on the lolcow map, one of which is his aforementioned delusion that he is a famous musician. trolls used this to trick him into thinking that he is noticed by the biggest music labels, while actually, this is only a ploy to milk him just for the shits and giggles. The way this works is some trolls would pose as an executive claimed to be working with major labels who had taken an interest with Larson's music, which is as enjoyable as a big pile of horse shit. He would bite the bait and announce on his TikTok that he would be working with said label, who instead of facilitating his career, they would coerced Larson into doing some stupid and the most humiliating shit they ever pulled on him, and add to the fact that Larson himself is completely oblivious of this, it would only go well as a crazy way trolls would do to milk him off his content. Larson is also notorious for his NSFW contents on this platform, often subjected for multiple bans by TikTok for positing his buck nude contents, including the one instance where he flashed his dong during a livestream. I don't know what to say at this point, but since I've come in contact with degenerates like this, I'm not surprised anymore. 

 

            The second is his borderline creepy fixation on young singer Grace Vanderwaal. He first became aware of the young singer back when Grace made her appearance in America's Got Talent. He was captivated by her singing, and believed that Grace would suit him per his grandma's "wish" that Daniel should date her. It all started when Larson claimed that he and Grace are currently working on a "collaboration project", and subsequently confessed (this, of course, only happened inside his twisted mind). He then proceeded to announce to his fanbase that he and Grace were officially dating, but in fact, she hardly even knew the guy, let alone agreed to date him. This, then, emboldened the trolls to pose as Grace, and again, coerced him to do the vilest shit the Internet has ever recorded. 

 

            I did mention that Larson has a slew of mental disorders and illnesses, right, well, you can pretty much find every single disorder under the sun, ranging from autism, ADHD, borderline personality disorder, even schizophrenia. But that is not the only thing that Larson suffered from. His physical condition is not well either, as he spends all of his time in the day walking on foot, getting sunburn while at the same time, cared too little about his hygiene. And this is the same guy that boast about being a famous musician and dated Grace Vanderwaal. Sure, he has quite a posture, standing in 1.77 meters (5ft 11 inches) tall, but he's pretty skinny in that stature, only weighing 52kg (115lbs). As per the time of the writing, it is speculated that Larson is actually lost more weight since, counting to the fact that he is currently homeless. 

 

            For starters, since he pretty much walks on foot, he has some foot conditions like trench foot, which is what happened when someone's foot is exposed to excessive moisture for too long, likely got its name from war times, since trenches during the time were always wet. His ankles are also heavily inflamed, likely because he never stops walking, which in turn, worsens his trench foot. He has other issues plaguing both his feet, such as plantar warts and severe blister. When you thought his foot problems are bad, wait until you read this: Daniel Larson have scabies infested inside him. This particular condition is a highly contagious one, caused by a small mite named Sarcoptes scabiei, and it's easy to spread and hard to treat, often times the clothes of the infected is discarded and destroyed, and the person being put in strict containment.

 

            His dental health is also as bad, if not worse than his foot or even his mental state. He is confirmed to have hypodontia, which is a condition that affect his dental development, and he has missing teeth due to this. On the other side, he also has some teeth out of position, and suspected to have an overbite, since in his videos, he talks to the camera with two of his front teeth showing, which is also have two different sizes, allegedly from unfixed crowding. 

 

            In short, the story of Daniel Larson is as intriguing as well as strange to put it mildly. He is in many ways similar to Chris Chan and Cyrax, but in a more frightening sense, since he is practically homeless, not cooped inside his room like the aforementioned two. From his social media escapades, his obsession with a young female singer, and his "music career", he is constantly being targeted for trolling, sometimes to the extreme extent. If I have one single advise for this guy, is to get off social media, get yourself a stable life (that means a home, a job, and a stable income), and for the love of all that is holy, get yourself cleaned up.

"Go Woke, Go Broke": A Tell-tale Stories of Companies Crashing Down

 (Warning: Strong languages ahead)

 

            To start this piece, let's remember the story of King Midas, who is said to possessed "The Golden Touch" in a literal sense, capable of turning everything he touched into gold, as per his wishes as told by the Greek Mythology. His ability is viewed as both a blessing and a curse, as the Golden King himself turns everything into gold just with a mere touch of his fingers, including his own daughter. He said to have died of starvation due to his supposed gift. But imagine now those same exact powers, but minus the "gift" aspect, only a full-blown curse, then you get the woke culture, modern feminism, and the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" Mantra. 

 

            We all see in recent times when big corporations trying to expand to include these "woke" groups who claim themselves to be "marginalized" but in reality, these people are the most privileged out of all American class. First of all, we're starting from the main catalyst that kick-started this hot mess, the situation between the beer brand Bud Light and a supposed "trans influencer" and female appropriator Dylan Mulvaney. We all know what transpires this disaster, and it all began when Mulvaney threw a party to celebrate his 365 "days of girlhood". Something that he came up with after he realized that being a "non-binary" is not enough for him to gain a massive following. Hell, an esteemed actress like Drew Barrymore even knelt before the jackass. Moving on, after that event, Mulvaney started to get various endorsement deals, one of them was from the Anheuser-Busch beer company, which is the parent company of several well-known American beer brands like Budweiser, and of course Bud Light. 

 

            And to support the campaign, Bud Light issued new packaging of their commemorative beer with Mulvaney's face printed on it, with his exaggerated, obnoxious, and creepy smile. Prior to this fiasco, the fucker appeared as an ambassador for beauty product Ulta Beauty, by participating in a podcast hosed by the company. To say that the interview was a hot mess will be an understatement. On the other side, Nike, the American sports brand, also did an endorsement deal with the dude, and on his video, he was depicted dancing (obnoxiously, mind you) while wearing the Nike sports bra, which is obviously designed for women who are BIOLOGICALLY VERIFIED BY THEIR FUCKING HORMONES AND GENITALS.

 

            And sure enough, backlash ensued. Anheuser-Busch suffered a massive loss in the stock market, with millions and millions of either Budweiser or Bud Light beers piling up unsold. And this is not an isolated incident as well. Thousands of Americans who are fed up with the whole woke culture banded together and launch a massive boycott around the United States, purchasing alternative beer brands aside from the ones by Anheuser Busch. Nike is no different either, as the brand faced harsh blowbacks over the deal, even some (real) female athletes called for boycott over the brand deal. Just recently, the department store Target launched an LGBT friendly fashion line AIMED FOR KIDS! Not only that, the fast-food chain like Chick-Fil-A, once celebrated by conservative Americans for their religious platform has now fell off the cliff and endorsing the woke LGBT agenda. And this is done en-route to the month of June, known otherwise by the rainbow mob as the "Pride" month. Ironic? I know. Dedicating an entire month to the heaviest and deadliest sin of all seven deadly sins must be hard on your asses.

 

            Despite all the outcry, companies who turn to wokeness for profit is not a new issue. There is one standard scoring index that literally grants and deducts points solely based on how woke the corporations can be, and it's called the Corporate Equality Index (CEI). This dumpster fire is proposed by the group called Human Rights Campaign, probably one if not the biggest left-wing, Soros-funded human rights group in existence. the premise of this index is to literally judge every corporate entity in America on how well they can pander to these groups, including, but not limited to: LGBT+ inclusion agenda, race-based segregation of the workforce, and gender-based policies, which recently heavily favors women (but ironically, nobody even knows what a woman is). In other words, companies are deemed "inclusive enough" if all of their policies and working environment are not based on profits and financial performance, but based on how they can squeeze as many "marginalized" workers and market themselves to be as woke as possible to the point of no turning back. This is literally the same as the one being implemented in China, called the "Social Credit Score". The premise is, the better you behave in the eyes of the government, the more social credit score you get. The more unruly you behave, and you lose all of your credit score. In reality, this is total control.

 

            Usually, I am saddened when a business that has been built for years with money, blood, sweat and tears must close its doors, often permanently, but in this case, I am actually rejoicing. Why, you may ask. I say this because unlike those businesses that unfortunately closed during the pandemic three years ago because of lack of financial support, these corporations are boycotted at the very least all because of their own decision to shove woke agendas into their consumer base. No wonder people started to look elsewhere for alternatives when the brand that they're used to suddenly caved into the alphabet mob and spewed the "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" bullshit while at the same time neglecting their own consumers who just wanted a good product. 

 

            I guess what I'm trying to say is the woke ideology is not for everyone. As many would always say, "whatever happens in the western world, stays in western word". While human rights issues continue to be the center of mankind, forcing ideologies that would otherwise clash with traditional values of one country is not a good idea, especially when done by big corporations with only profit on their mind.