Hello.
This is where it begins. This is where Brian begins to spew his venom at those in the world who truly deserve it. Let the poison set in, my foes, and let it set in good. I'll only produce more just to spite you.
This is where you, as the reader, will get to know me from an angle that only a few of my closest friends and family members may have ever seen me previously. It's not as scary as it sounds; I've got a good heart. I was raised in a loving home with a loving family, and I have no deep psychological scars that propel me to any kind of dark place. I'm just an ordinary guy trying to figure out his place in the world. More importantly, I'm trying to figure out the world itself.
I am Brian Piorkowski. And world, I think it's time you heard from me. I've been silent long enough.
I have always had a strong sense of personal justice. I've always had a strong sense of right and wrong. I've always felt that those who intentionally and purposefully wrong others deserve to pay for their transgressions. I'm something of a quiet vigilante, wishing swift justice and resolution to those who bear nothing but ill intent toward others. Evil is everywhere. You need only to look around you to see it. You need only to turn on your television to see it on a daily basis. Sure, a lot of it is presented in the media because blood sells. We all know that. But a lot of it shows up there because a lot of it happens…every day.
I know there is good in the world, too. I'm not blind to that. We don't hear about it so much. You would think that the world would tire of bad news and crave positivity now and then. I know that I do. But for whatever reason, we seldom get to see that side of things. Good is out there; we simply need to dig a little deeper to find it. Sometimes, though, it seems that the reason we have to keep digging so deep to find good deeds in the world is because we are so deeply immersed in the bad ones. In other words, it seems as if those who cherish the good in people are vastly outnumbered by those who thrive on perpetuating all that is evil.
It may be a simpleton's view of the world, painting it all in such black and white colors. The realities tend to lie somewhere in the middle, in the shades of gray that people often talk about. That may be so. But I think when any given situation dealing with morality gets boiled down to its basic components, it's pretty easy to see the right and wrong in nearly anything. Life in itself doesn't deal in rights and wrongs. It deals only with survival. Right and wrong are human concepts, and for me, they are even more than that: they comprise the human condition. Morality is a concept that can often be elusive to people; everyone has their own interpretations of it. I may have too strong a sense of it and maybe even a twisted sense of it at times. That's something that I often struggle with. How much morality is too much? How much is not enough? Does morality have a place in life, which doesn't even recognize it? This is a constant dilemma that I will be visiting in the writing that is to follow.
I do not know where this journey will take me. It's something of an uncharted course. I only know that if I don't begin to put my thoughts into writing that can be shared with others, I will feel as though I've contributed very little to the world.
I used to idealistically believe that music was going to be my gift to the world. Music was once my main focus in life, and I had hoped to one day use messages in music and lyrics to somehow reach out to the world. That is still something that I wish could happen, but I've let life slip too far past me to chase that avenue now. The music business is shady, fickle, and centered on youth. I'm older now, and I'm certain the music business would not have me even if I were the most talented musician alive (which I'm most certainly not). Music will always be a part of my life, but considering the way the world has changed since I first delved into that dream, I don't see that my music would have any market today and hence would not have any influence on anything.
I may find that these writings will fare no better. And that's okay; it is simply much easier and more direct to write my feelings directly here than to shape them into lyrics and music. I enjoy the art in doing that, but it's immensely time consuming. I feel that I need to express myself more rapidly, now that I'm older and don't have as much time left on this earth to get things done. This avenue of expression is simply more efficient than music. Music is more powerful, in my opinion, but I'm not a strong enough musician to crank out music quickly and effectively. Writing my thoughts out in text is where my best hope lies in getting them out there.
You may choose to disagree with what I will write. I fully expect a lot of backlash once I've begun. I would hope, however, that readers will see the reasoning behind my rants, as simplistic as they will be. I'm no philosopher or literary genius and I'm certainly no authority on morality or moral issues. I do hope that most will see some sort of wisdom in what I have to say. And I hope that I am able to open people's eyes to what is happening around them. With any luck, the responses I get will help open my eyes to things that I may not be cognizant of. Somewhere down the line, I hope to find peace in knowing that I am not alone in my thoughts.
It may or may not surprise you to know that the events of September 11th, 2001 have had a profound impact on my life, even though there was no direct impact to me personally. The closest direct impact to me was the fact that my girlfriend's cousin worked in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks, and narrowly escaped certain death by getting away from the buildings before they fell. She had been arriving to work by train in the subways below the towers, and exited the train moments after the first plane had struck one of the towers. As she exited the train, people were frantically trying to escape the lower levels and work their way up to the streets to escape. Nobody knew what was happening just then, but my girlfriend's cousin managed to get to street level and get away from the scene just in time to have saved her own life.
Clearly, this is hardly a direct impact to me other than the fact that I have met this girl on a few occasions at family gatherings. It's surely disturbing to me that she was faced with such a disaster; she lost many friends and co-workers in the event, and without a doubt she's been far more affected by that day than I could ever have been while watching it unfold from a distance here in Indiana. Nevertheless, the sheer calamity of the attacks has still had a profound effect on me, and that single day is solely responsible for much of what I think and feel about the world today. It's sad that it took such a horrible tragedy to wake me up and realize that the world isn't the place I thought it was. I had been blissfully ignorant of the horrors of the world. But not any longer; now I see things very differently, and I can attribute much of that to the events of 9/11. I had hoped that the rest of the world, especially those around me, would see things the same way that I did, and would be moved in the same way that I was moved. Some were, and some were not. Sadly, some seem to have found that the best way to deal with 9/11 is to forget that it ever happened.
It is for those who seem to have lost all memory of 9/11, and what it could mean for all of humanity, that I am inspired to write. I want to wake you up. I want you to realize that the attacks are not over. 9/11 was only the opening act, and I fear we can all expect a lot more where that came from. I'm no fear monger and I'm no defeatist. I'm not some overzealous patriot, nor am I a religious extremist on the "opposite side" of the war with Islamic fundamentalism. I do not express my views in the name of religion. I express them in the name of what, to me, is right and wrong. Too often, religion is used and twisted to justify certain actions. This is what Islamic fundamentalists do. I do not wish to sink to their level. I wish to simply try to sort out right from wrong, regardless of religion. To those that I perceive to be "in the wrong" I will unleash a written lashing that will be anything but kind. I will use foul language. I will belittle and berate. I will use slurs and I will use personal attacks. Words will be my weapons, especially since I'm too old to pick up a rifle and go and kill the murderous pricks myself. I will leave that work to our armed forces, for which I have the utmost of respect.
One of the things this great nation affords me is the freedom of speech. I intend to use that freedom to convey my thoughts, kind or unkind. Brace yourselves, my friends. You have probably never seen me in this light. But fear me not, either. It is the good in my heart that drives me to speak my mind. I wish no ill toward anyone that wishes no ill toward others. I only wish ill toward those who have it coming. My writings will soon reveal who I intend to verbally attack, and why.
I hope that you will join me in my journey. This is where it begins.
This is where it begins. This is where Brian begins to spew his venom at those in the world who truly deserve it. Let the poison set in, my foes, and let it set in good. I'll only produce more just to spite you.
This is where you, as the reader, will get to know me from an angle that only a few of my closest friends and family members may have ever seen me previously. It's not as scary as it sounds; I've got a good heart. I was raised in a loving home with a loving family, and I have no deep psychological scars that propel me to any kind of dark place. I'm just an ordinary guy trying to figure out his place in the world. More importantly, I'm trying to figure out the world itself.
I am Brian Piorkowski. And world, I think it's time you heard from me. I've been silent long enough.
I have always had a strong sense of personal justice. I've always had a strong sense of right and wrong. I've always felt that those who intentionally and purposefully wrong others deserve to pay for their transgressions. I'm something of a quiet vigilante, wishing swift justice and resolution to those who bear nothing but ill intent toward others. Evil is everywhere. You need only to look around you to see it. You need only to turn on your television to see it on a daily basis. Sure, a lot of it is presented in the media because blood sells. We all know that. But a lot of it shows up there because a lot of it happens…every day.
I know there is good in the world, too. I'm not blind to that. We don't hear about it so much. You would think that the world would tire of bad news and crave positivity now and then. I know that I do. But for whatever reason, we seldom get to see that side of things. Good is out there; we simply need to dig a little deeper to find it. Sometimes, though, it seems that the reason we have to keep digging so deep to find good deeds in the world is because we are so deeply immersed in the bad ones. In other words, it seems as if those who cherish the good in people are vastly outnumbered by those who thrive on perpetuating all that is evil.
It may be a simpleton's view of the world, painting it all in such black and white colors. The realities tend to lie somewhere in the middle, in the shades of gray that people often talk about. That may be so. But I think when any given situation dealing with morality gets boiled down to its basic components, it's pretty easy to see the right and wrong in nearly anything. Life in itself doesn't deal in rights and wrongs. It deals only with survival. Right and wrong are human concepts, and for me, they are even more than that: they comprise the human condition. Morality is a concept that can often be elusive to people; everyone has their own interpretations of it. I may have too strong a sense of it and maybe even a twisted sense of it at times. That's something that I often struggle with. How much morality is too much? How much is not enough? Does morality have a place in life, which doesn't even recognize it? This is a constant dilemma that I will be visiting in the writing that is to follow.
I do not know where this journey will take me. It's something of an uncharted course. I only know that if I don't begin to put my thoughts into writing that can be shared with others, I will feel as though I've contributed very little to the world.
I used to idealistically believe that music was going to be my gift to the world. Music was once my main focus in life, and I had hoped to one day use messages in music and lyrics to somehow reach out to the world. That is still something that I wish could happen, but I've let life slip too far past me to chase that avenue now. The music business is shady, fickle, and centered on youth. I'm older now, and I'm certain the music business would not have me even if I were the most talented musician alive (which I'm most certainly not). Music will always be a part of my life, but considering the way the world has changed since I first delved into that dream, I don't see that my music would have any market today and hence would not have any influence on anything.
I may find that these writings will fare no better. And that's okay; it is simply much easier and more direct to write my feelings directly here than to shape them into lyrics and music. I enjoy the art in doing that, but it's immensely time consuming. I feel that I need to express myself more rapidly, now that I'm older and don't have as much time left on this earth to get things done. This avenue of expression is simply more efficient than music. Music is more powerful, in my opinion, but I'm not a strong enough musician to crank out music quickly and effectively. Writing my thoughts out in text is where my best hope lies in getting them out there.
You may choose to disagree with what I will write. I fully expect a lot of backlash once I've begun. I would hope, however, that readers will see the reasoning behind my rants, as simplistic as they will be. I'm no philosopher or literary genius and I'm certainly no authority on morality or moral issues. I do hope that most will see some sort of wisdom in what I have to say. And I hope that I am able to open people's eyes to what is happening around them. With any luck, the responses I get will help open my eyes to things that I may not be cognizant of. Somewhere down the line, I hope to find peace in knowing that I am not alone in my thoughts.
It may or may not surprise you to know that the events of September 11th, 2001 have had a profound impact on my life, even though there was no direct impact to me personally. The closest direct impact to me was the fact that my girlfriend's cousin worked in the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks, and narrowly escaped certain death by getting away from the buildings before they fell. She had been arriving to work by train in the subways below the towers, and exited the train moments after the first plane had struck one of the towers. As she exited the train, people were frantically trying to escape the lower levels and work their way up to the streets to escape. Nobody knew what was happening just then, but my girlfriend's cousin managed to get to street level and get away from the scene just in time to have saved her own life.
Clearly, this is hardly a direct impact to me other than the fact that I have met this girl on a few occasions at family gatherings. It's surely disturbing to me that she was faced with such a disaster; she lost many friends and co-workers in the event, and without a doubt she's been far more affected by that day than I could ever have been while watching it unfold from a distance here in Indiana. Nevertheless, the sheer calamity of the attacks has still had a profound effect on me, and that single day is solely responsible for much of what I think and feel about the world today. It's sad that it took such a horrible tragedy to wake me up and realize that the world isn't the place I thought it was. I had been blissfully ignorant of the horrors of the world. But not any longer; now I see things very differently, and I can attribute much of that to the events of 9/11. I had hoped that the rest of the world, especially those around me, would see things the same way that I did, and would be moved in the same way that I was moved. Some were, and some were not. Sadly, some seem to have found that the best way to deal with 9/11 is to forget that it ever happened.
It is for those who seem to have lost all memory of 9/11, and what it could mean for all of humanity, that I am inspired to write. I want to wake you up. I want you to realize that the attacks are not over. 9/11 was only the opening act, and I fear we can all expect a lot more where that came from. I'm no fear monger and I'm no defeatist. I'm not some overzealous patriot, nor am I a religious extremist on the "opposite side" of the war with Islamic fundamentalism. I do not express my views in the name of religion. I express them in the name of what, to me, is right and wrong. Too often, religion is used and twisted to justify certain actions. This is what Islamic fundamentalists do. I do not wish to sink to their level. I wish to simply try to sort out right from wrong, regardless of religion. To those that I perceive to be "in the wrong" I will unleash a written lashing that will be anything but kind. I will use foul language. I will belittle and berate. I will use slurs and I will use personal attacks. Words will be my weapons, especially since I'm too old to pick up a rifle and go and kill the murderous pricks myself. I will leave that work to our armed forces, for which I have the utmost of respect.
One of the things this great nation affords me is the freedom of speech. I intend to use that freedom to convey my thoughts, kind or unkind. Brace yourselves, my friends. You have probably never seen me in this light. But fear me not, either. It is the good in my heart that drives me to speak my mind. I wish no ill toward anyone that wishes no ill toward others. I only wish ill toward those who have it coming. My writings will soon reveal who I intend to verbally attack, and why.
I hope that you will join me in my journey. This is where it begins.
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