Uh, hey

"game of thrones" did consequence right at first. the red wedding scene is effective because it was following a tangible, visible series of plot events. it was a consequence. by the end of the series, consequences were actually random - we cannot track why/where/when things are happening, because they aren't related to each other with followable consequence. unfortunately, writers saw the red wedding and understood: chaos is an acceptable force in a narrative, rather than chaos needs some grounding in the real.

this is "gotcha" media's problem. it's why so many "twists" feel stupid rather than shocking - because consequences are predictable, and if they're not, they run the risk of making the writing completely asinine.

it's totally fair to have characters die or have everyone end up alone or whatever else you need to do. but it needs to make sense. and it should start on the smaller end of things. you and i are probably not people that can influence anyone on a global scale, so having someone experience a consequence personally (like your hands shaking too badly to eat) feels more real and vivid than just... some vague, huge, random world that anything can happen in. how are we supposed to buy into a fiction that doesn't even allow itself any kind of rules?

boy: oh…I don’t like lipstick on girls 

me: 

The RCMP destroyed records of police communications from the night Colten Boushie died and conducted a parallel internal probe into the handling of the case without notifying the civilian watchdog, according to a report from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.

The CRCC expressed “disappointment and frustration” with the police decision to destroy recordings and transcripts of radio traffic between officers who responded to the fatal shooting of Mr. Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man, in August, 2016.

The CRCC also said it has “serious concerns” that it wasn’t told about a separate, simultaneous RCMP internal investigation into the handling of the case.

[…]

When the CRCC requested records of police communications such as radio and telephone calls on the night Mr. Boushie died, the RCMP said the records had already been destroyed. They were deemed to have no evidentiary value to the criminal investigation, the RCMP said, and were disposed of in August, 2018, two years after the events in question, in keeping with records retention policy.

The CRCC investigation, however, was announced in March, 2018, less than two years after Mr. Boushie’s death. Mr. Boushie’s family also began a civil action against the RCMP before two years had elapsed. Recordings of police communications would have been relevant to both of those cases and should have been preserved, said counsel for Mr. Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste.

“They knew there was a civil case. They knew there was an investigation by the CRCC. They knew the family was calling for an inquiry and yet they go and destroy the communications from that day,” said Eleanore Sunchild, Ms. Baptiste’s lawyer. “That is unacceptable.”

The recordings would have particular relevance to aspects of the investigation that dealt with how police notified Ms. Baptiste of her son’s death. The police maintain they took a tactical approach to encircle her home and then search the premises because they believed that one of Mr. Boushie’s companions may have been inside and armed.

The CRCC found that surrounding the house with officers carrying carbines wasn’t in keeping with a reasonable risk assessment, nor was it appropriate or compassionate in the circumstances. After Ms. Baptiste collapsed in tears on hearing the news of her son’s death, an officer asked if she’d been drinking. One or more officers smelled her breath. The CRCC said those actions were insensitive and linked to a stereotypical understanding of Indigenous peoples, which led to the finding of racial discrimination.

The RCMP also proceeded to search the family home, which the CRCC said was unreasonable and unlawful.

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