blame it on kayne

please don't blame it on keith

he just needs somebody to burn

In the email/rant that he sent to BPR Keith wrote:

SO- I BROUGHT BOOKS! IS THIS SUCH A FOREIGN CONCEPT- HAVE WE GONE SO FAR BACK IN TIME THAT BOOK BURNINGS ARE BACK IN FASHION????

Oh, get off your soapbox and get a grip on yourself.

It isn't like he brought along Cervantes or Dostoevsky. As for going back in time to the burning of books: by comparing his situation to historical book burnings Keith is evoking the Inquisition and the Holocaust, which is rather offensive. This isn't a witch hunt and he might also want to review the history of the Salem witch trials to see what real oppression was like. Elevating himself to this level of drama is not going to evoke any sympathy -- it just suggests a tendency towards paranoia and delusions of grandeur. No one is burning books. But Keith does appear to be burning a quite a few bridges.

There are so many gems in this letter but I think this is the passage that should garner him the most friends:

. . . the most disappointing thing of all is seeing all the short sighted, small minded, nasty, base, cruel speculation without knowing any facts- about something people saw on TV!!!!!!! TV. Umm common- it’s 2006- I know that television with all its pretty colors is at the zenith of It’s [sic] craft but really- do none of you know the meaning of scripting and editing? leave me alone and get a clue………..You’ve been duped- and if you don’t believe it, good luck in life. Weak minded people will always be manipulated . . .

I'll limit myself to three observations. First of all, nothing wins readers over like telling them that they are morons. Second, long ranting and insulting letters to the blog with the largest fan readership for the show is not exactly a demonstration that he wants to be left alone. Third, ironically Keith is the one who doesn't seem to be able to separate himself from his media persona. Sadly, his continued efforts to bring them together only serve to reinforce his villianous character for the show. (As always I refer readers to "for the record.")

The best thing he could do for himself would be to drop the matter and put it behind him, unless he actually thrives on the drama (after all, he is the one most reponsible for creating it). If this is the case then the worst thing that happened to him was that he stopped being the center of attention (see hystrionic personality disorder) and by stirring the pot again he is getting what he wants: everyone talking about him.

Unlike Vincent whose delusions about himself buoy his spirits (in addition to making him a total jerk), Keith's sense of superiority seems to mainly fuel anger and hostility. And I thought Vincent made the show ugly. It seems like Keith is in the midst of come sort of full-blown crack-up which limits any schadenfreude I might have been able to muster up for all of this.

Click here for a small discussion of the reunion incident.

(note: click on the image above to check out more of these great corporate inspiration parodies)