Hw 35

How does a person achieve "cool" through their own perspective?

I feel that people act cool, because it is one of the few ways to be remembered for a period of time after death. One way to do this is having two faces. A person knows that they cannot be liked from both parents and friends if they act the same thus bringing out different characters. Another way is to be socially known or famous. We also achieve cool by having some sort of property named after you, or can be seen and admired such as a mansion, or a park. Such attempts of cool has changed over the course of the years, from dressing nicely to poorly, from specking correctly to illiterate. But there are some things about cool that will never change, for instance, a suit on a man will probably never go out of style. Expensive toys, such as the ipod or gaming console will be loved by many. Even the things we don’t find appealing such as popped collars, cartoon network, or Canada, may be viewed as cool by a different culture or a small group of people. Everyone does whatever it takes to be cool, but to certain people only. If you are trying to appeal to your friends, you wouldn’t care what people in Russia or Japan thinks. I am trying to say that we are all acting cool to get a rite of passage to a certain group. We are all acting cool, so what’s the deal with criminals? Are they acting cool to? And to whom? I feel like we are all trying to achieve cool, but criminals methods are different then who are law abiding citizens. Criminals, like most of us, tries to achieve cool with the same techniques as citizens, but with their own methods.
Money is a very effective and easy way to be known, even achieving millions of dollars can make a person known. Attempts of gaining millions of dollars were used by businessman, sports players, fashion designers, actors/actresses. Of course we don’t know all of the people who fall into these categories, but we know at least the best or personal favorites. One widely known criminal who tried to become a celebrity is named Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone, or “Scarface”. Capone wanted to be widely known and famous, one of the ways to be cool. His methods however were not legal. After being expelled from P.S. 133 at the age of 14, he worked wherever he can such as candy stores and bowling alleys. He soon came across Johnny Torrio who introduced him to the gangster life. One of his earlier gangs Capone was involved in was Junior Forty Thieves, Brooklyn Ripper and Five Points Gang. He later moved to Chicago leaving his wife Mae Josephine Coughlin, after she gave birth to their son. Years later, after an assassination attempt on Torrio, he left his wealth to Capone and fled to Italy. From there, Capone become notorious and owned a large portion of Chicago’s underworld.
“Capone was notorious during the Prohibition Era for his control of large portions of the Chicago underworld, which provided the Outfit with an estimated US $100 million per year[15] in revenue. This wealth was generated through all manner of illegal enterprises, such as gambling and prostitution,[6] although the largest moneymaker was the sale of liquor. In those days Capone had the habit of "interviewing" new prostitutes for his club himself.1Demand was met by a transportation network that moved smuggled liquor from the rum-runners of the East Coast and The Purple Gang in Detroit and local production in the form of Midwestern moonshine operations and illegal breweries. With the funds generated by his bootlegging operation, Capone's grip on the political and law-enforcement establishments in Chicago grew stronger. Through this organized corruption, which included the bribing of Mayor of Chicago William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion, operating casinos and speakeasies throughout Chicago. Wealth also permitted Capone to indulge in a luxurious lifestyle of custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink (his preferred liquor was Templeton Rye from Iowa), jewelry, and female companionship. He garnered media attention, to which his favorite responses was "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want" and "All I do is satisfy a public demand."[6] Capone had become a celebrity.”
Capone become famous because he owned something that was very entertaining to many people. Prostitution, gambling, liquor stores, all of these were of value to many people. He was able to bribe the law enforcers, the mayor, anyone that might’ve got in his way, in which he then brought the underworld business out of the shadows and into the light. He got everyone to like him, even the media didn’t seem to mind Capone. His illegal methods got his to being a star, even after accused of murder and rape, he was still able to hold the public’s trust because he was cool. No matter how he made his money, bootlegged products, illegal breweries, he had money and fame and no one was going o call him a criminal. Because he had money and fame, attempted by most of us, he was famous and a celebrity.
One of the ways of being cool or at least seemingly cool because you are being acknowledged by many people is getting attention any means necessary, through pity or heroic action. This is mostly seen through celebrities. Whether they are having another baby, or had sex in public, or addicted to drugs, it would instantaneously be on the media and magazines. There is one man who sought for this kind of attention, although he did not use the standard methods of gaining attention. Instead, Keith Jesperson, aka “The Happy Face Killer,” used fear to gain the everyone’s attention. Born with an abusive father, and a family who hates him, Keith grew up with a thirst for attention. With no talent, and no future, he turned to the only thing he knew, anger. Anger from his father, anger from his entire family, he went on a killing spree all across the U.S.A. His methods of gaining attention was not the confession he gave to the media about killing his victims, but because he wrote letters to the media and confess to crimes he didn’t commit. “Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955, Chilliwack, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American serial killer known as the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face he drew on his many letters to the media and prosecutors.[1] He first drew the smiley face on the wall of a toilet where he left an anonymous confession to killing Taunja Bennett, this was hundreds of miles away from the scene of the crime. When that didn't elicit a response, he began writing letters…while Jesperson sat in the Clark County Jail for the murder of Julie Winningham, he began talking to his attorney, Thomas Phelan, about other crimes that he had committed starting with Taunja Bennett. Keith also confessed to a large number of murders that he didn't commit. He sought attention from the media by taking credit for many more murders. Many of these murders happened when he had a conclusive alibi and he later recanted most of these confessions.” Jesperson, never was given attention or love from his family (and I feel attention is something we all crave from especially from our family), seeks it from the media. He we in desperate need for as much attention as possible, he confess to crimes he didn’t commit, only to either, because a more psychotic killer, or gain pity from the media’s audiences especially when they find out that he didn’t do it. He did what it takes to gain attention, even coming up with a an odd confession with a drawing of a smiley face on a toilet. His odd methods and his letter to the media became a signature of Jesperson, something to remember his by, and because of his name, The Happy Face Killer, it gives him a sort of twist image that people will remember. His attempts to become fearful, by confessing he killed more than he actually did, and the smiley faces he incorporated with his kills, gives him a twisted outlook only a “psychopath” would be viewed today. And because of his odd techniques and methods, he will be both feared and remembered by many long after his death.
There are many ideas of cool, and what cool is depends on the culture you grew up in. But even so, something’s are not determine by culture, for instance video games can be thought as cool by all people, so are animals, wild life, etc. These are all methods to become cool and fit in with a certain group. Killing is no exception. Killing has gone on for as long as a living organism was determined to live. Killing is no different than being rich. They both have their ups and down, and they will be the star attention, the unique one, out of the culture they live in. We all are trying to become “cool” so we are to be remembered for years to come, and we all will do whatever means necessary to become cool.