So I wrote what I thought was some absolutely brilliant political analysis on SFist about how the whole cartoon fracas is like the Real World. Once again, I was firmly convinced of it's apparent brilliance and was sure it would make people achieve nirvana due to it's astuteness.

Unfortunately, my writing mojo is still in Vegas and not working really well. And nobody seemed to notice, partly because I whimped out and didn't turn it into the big production I originally was going to make it. But since I've got nothing much else better to write tonight and it's late, here t'is for those who didn't read it.

You know what this whole cartoon fracas, the one sweeping through the Middle East, makes us think of? "The Real World." Why? Because in the "Real World", there's always one borderline crazy roommate with a quick trigger and a bag full of resentment. Picture Puck, Karamo, New Orleans David, Stephen, Coral, etc. They're put in a house made up primarily of privileged, self-centered kids who think it's God's will that they be allowed to party, hook up, and get through their daddy issues in front of a camera. As the season goes on, the angry one gives off such an aura of "don't mess with me or I'm going to go medieval on your ass" that the other castmates try and do their best not to piss them off. So they walk around eggshells as it were to avoid conflict, all the while badmouthing that person when they're not there and cameras are around.

Then, finally, after one or two almost blow outs, one of the dumb cast members decides they've had enough and does something that they know will piss the holy hell out of the angry cast member. This is usually done because the castmate decides they need to "keep it real." When it happens, the easily angered cast member decides that they have to "keep it real" too and so goes completely nuts and the "Real World" has another moment that sends message board denizens into fits of glee. Picture Stephen slapping Irene and throwing her stuffed animal into Puget Sound. Picture Original New York Julie and Kevin going at it in the streets of New York or David and Tammy in "Real World LA." And yes, what we are trying so hard and quite belabord-ly to do is say this-- we are Irene and all those rioters are Stephen. Or, for maybe we're Mike and they're Coral. Well, anyways, you get our point. And yes, one point we could make is that all of this is just one, big long example of "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong."

So what does this all mean? Well, once again, we turn to the "Real World" to find our solution. If the roommate is deemed too crazy and too much of a threat, they'll get thrown out of the house which causes much drama and resentment and plots of revenge years later on a challenge show. Like LA David or to a certain extent, Beth. Or they could still stay on and just make everyone's life that much more miserable until the next, more serious altercation arises. Like with Puck in the San Francisco season. Or maybe nothing will happen except there's no peace in the house and everyone just hates each other by the end of the season, like with Boston. But mainly, what they usually do is have a long talk and discussion in which there's the inevitable hug and things calm down. And at the end of the series, both the angry cast mate and the dumb cast mate give interviews in which they talk about how "they've grown from the experience" and the dumb cast mate goes on to say they've learned another perspective. In other words, we have a choice, here- be Tammy, be Judd, or be the Miz.

Who says you can't learn anything from the "Real World?"