As tears go by; or, the return of the virtual tissue

It dawned on me that I hadn't given one of these out in a while, so after reading this heart-rending tale of Hollywood's persecution of Pat Boone, I figured no one was worthier of Sister Nancy Beth's consolation than Pat. Be sure you're wearing your waterproof mascara, ladies, because when you read of the horrors Pat has had to endure, you're likely to erupt into a river of tears. Take, for instance, Pat's encounters with his neighbors:

But then Ozzie and Sharon and their kids moved in next door. And you've seen on their television show the continual stream of profanity in all of their language. Mom, Dad, kids--even the dogs are profane--and yet when I went over to see them and visit them several times in their home, there was none of that language. And I didn't say anything nor did I suspect anything. But I can only surmise that either Ozzie or Sharon--most likely Sharon--said "Now, Ozzie, Pat Boone's coming over, let's watch our language." I'm just guessing, but all I know is it was just neighborly talk.

But now that he's clean and sober and drug-free, every time I see him lately, he's been a different, more socially-correct person.

My point is that I noticed that everywhere I went, there was a certain dampening on people's behavior. The underlying point is that Hollywood does not like that. They don't want any restrictions. They don't want anybody telling them what they can or can't do. If they get an idea for a TV show, or an episode or an excuse for nakedness or nudity like on "NYPD," it became known that any male star or any actor on NYPD was going to have his rear end exposed in some episode.... All the males and the women had to be eventually involved in ... a sex scene.

I'd be gravely offended, too, if Ozzie Osbourne used clean language in my Beverly Hills house. Oh, curse you, Liberal Hollywood, for making the Osbournes watch the potty talk! There's no doubt in my mind that Ozzy and his brood would rather have partaken in this big NYPD Blue orgy sequence instead, were it not for Hollywood's perfidies!

Keeping the language inoffensive in front of Pat is only one of Hollywood's sins. Pat has also been robbed of numerous movie roles on account of his faith:

WV: But aside from that, you did get word--or you seemed to believe--that ... they also did not offer you roles that you wanted and could have played.

BOONE: Yes, [there has been] that too. Even a movie like Robert Wise's "Sand Pebbles," a role that Steve McQueen played, and of course, he did it beautifully. But I was up for that role, and Robert Wise, when I was proposed by a casting director--I was perfect for that role--[Wise] said, "No I don't want a singer. I want an actor. Well, I'd been in the top ten [at the] box office, and I think I had proven that I could act.

But there was a certain disdainful view of me as a singer, a guy with a wife and four kids, and pretty straight-laced if not totally square. [There is an attitude of] "OK, let him do his thing, but we want somebody who can not only portray and do a dramatic role, but hopefully is living a pretty dramatic personal life, as well, and bring that image to the role."

According to IMDB, Steve McQueen was nominated for an Oscar in the best leading actor category for Sand Pebbles. I think we can all safely assume that Pat would have cinched that honor quite handily had be been cast. Christians, let us shed a tear for what might have been.

You would think that these instances by themselves would be enough mistreatment at the hands of Hollywood's liberals for a lifetime, but you'd be wrong. Pat also got the shaft from MSM:

The media is incredibly skewed to the left, and it has cost me in a number of situations. The Dallas Times-Herald ran a false story about me that was so defamatory. It was because somebody had made a legal claim against me in an investment I was in and ... actually said in the paper that I had made false statements in court. This was an allegation.

[Actually] he [the reporter] was referring to statements he thought were false in a deposition, not in court, and it turned out that he was completely wrong. It was totally defamatory, and I contacted the publisher [of the paper] and said, "I'm going to have lawyers approaching you because this is not only wrong and libelous, but it's very damaging to me. So you'll be hearing from my attorneys." And he said, "Let me check into it."

He got back to me right away, and said, "We're printing a retraction. You're right. The reporter was really out of line. You don't have to get lawyers. We'll print a retraction. ...

And that publisher became editor of the L.A. Times.

Of course he did, what with Pat Boone's head mounted on his office wall. It's become an unspoken rule for journalistic advancement: Slag Big Pat and see your fortunes rise. I wouldn't be surprised to see Katie Couric's fingerprints on one of these hit jobs.

I simply can't continue, as I'm choking back tears here at my desk. But as they say on the internets, Read the whole thing. I found Pat's thoughts on political up and comers Golda Meier & Indira Gandhi to be especially insightful. So go, read -- you owe it to Pat and to yourself.