ColonelBoogie

ColonelBoogie t1_ja90ub5 wrote

From a more philosophical standpoint, rights are accompanied by responsibilities. Sometimes, we codify those responsibilities in law. For example, you have the right to freedom of speech. You have the responsibility not cause harn to the person, property, or reputation of another through speech that is not true, hence libel and slander laws. You have the right to be armed. You have the responsibility to only use weapons for legitimate purposes. You have the right to a trial by a jury of your peers. You have the responsibility to serve as a juror when called upon to do so.

Sometimes I think we forget how absolutely incredible it I'd that most of us live under a system where human rights are codified I'm law. Most of our ancestors would be floored at the rights we enjoy. Serving on a jury is a very small price to pay for a legal system with fairness and objectivity as its goal.

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ColonelBoogie t1_j1u5to9 wrote

If you're not local to SC, I can speak a little more about the larger context. I spent a lot of time in MB in the 80s and early 90s. Our parents would literally just tell us to be back by lunch or dinner and we were free to roam the beach or the strip. We always felt safe, and you would constantly run into people you knew. Sure, locals knew to avoid the OD around bike week, black bike week, and senior week but overall it was a very family friendly experience.

Things changed in the 2000s. Black bike week was exploding in popularity. (BTW, don't come at me about "black bike week". This is the name that locals both black and white have called the event for decades). Atlantic Beach, it's traditional home, could no longer contain the event and the focus of the event shifted to Myrtle. For a few years, things went off the rails. Shootings and stabbings downtown, high levels of property crime, etc. Harley Week was little better. It seemed like Harley Week turned into Harley Month, and good luck trying to move anywhere between 17bypass and the water. During both bike weeks, seeing women twerking in thongs, flashing, or even couples performing sexual acts on public was not unusual. This was not casual toplessness like you might find on a beach in Europe. This was sexually charged nudity around children. The Pavilion (an amusement park) closed around 05 or 06 leaving a literal gaping hole on the strip and tons of teenagers with less options to contain them at night. Meanwhile, MB was experiencing the same woes as the rest of the country with housing shortages, opioid addiction, homelessness, etc. In other words, family friendly Myrtle Beach turned into Dirty Myrtle.

The current crop of city leaders realize that Myrtles reputation has taken a hit and its hurting tourism and local investment. (For example, I don't take my kids there and I personally know very few families here in SC that do. We go to other beaches now). They invested in more infrastructure to lure families, like the boardwalk and that big farris wheel. They are targeting a different demographic with the country music fest. Part of the change seems to be much stricter law enforcement on seemingly trivial things like vehicle modifications, traffic infractions, and revealing swimwear.

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ColonelBoogie t1_iyelqu6 wrote

The question assumes that accuracy and realism were the end goal of the artist or the subject, or at least would be a desirable outcome. I'm not sure that's a fair assumption. We live in a world influenced by photography. Portraiture can imitate photography because photography exists to imitate. Prior to that development, capturing the "essence" or displaying the beauty of a subject may have been more desirable.

Let's say you're painting a portrait of Washington. The man was known to be stern, but fair. He was generous to friends and supporters but also had a fierce temper if pushed too far. He carried himself with the surety and sense of nobility that a planter from a FFV would have. But those aren't physical characteristics. Still, the artist would be expected to convey those qualities through their work. So maybe you broaden his shoulders, soften his eyebrows to emphasize his eyes, reduce the swelling in his jaw, get rid of a few wrinkles in his brown, straighten his nose to be more reminiscent of Roman emperors (Idk if that was actually done except for the jaw thing. Just examples). You convey the essence of the man and not just his image.

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