Law & Order: SVU Character Review: Dominick Carisi Jr

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

If there is anything that gets us in trouble, it is inexperience and the inability to control our emotions.

On Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, that inexperience and the inability to control one’s emotions was the introduction to one of the newer members of the squad, Dominick Carisi Jr. Carisi is of Italian-American descent. Born and raised on Staten Island, he comes a tight knit and complicated family.

Over time, his inexperience and lack of ability to control his emotions was tempered, though certain cases brought out his lesser qualities. Looking to the future, Carisi started taking night classes at Fordham University to earn his law degree. Adding knowledge of the law helps him professionally, but the joke is that DA Rafael Barba (Raul Esparza) is not always pleased with Carisi’s interjection.

To sum it up: When a television program is only for as long as SVU has been on, the interjection of new characters and new emotions is needed to shake up both the narrative and the characters. Carisi, as a character, because of his inexperience and quick temper, was the shakeup that SVU needed. Though it sometimes got him in trouble, he has matured into a character that is beloved both by the other characters and the fans alike.

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Thoughts On the Equinox/SoulCycle Controversy

Voting with one’s wallet is often just as powerful as voting at the ballot box on election day. The problem with voting with our wallet is that we sometimes let our outrage and emotions speak for us instead of behaving rationally.

The latest kerfuffle surrounds Stephen Ross, the billionaire businessman who owns Equinox and SoulCycle. When it was announced that he would be hosting a fundraiser for you know whose 2020 Presidential re-election campaign, the reaction was swift and furious.

While my political beliefs fall in line with those who are angered by the decision, I don’t agree that Mr. Ross should be bullied into cancelling the fundraiser. Granted, he earns his living from the membership fees that are paid to both organizations. However, if this fundraiser is done on his time and his dime, then it should be live and let live.

Imagine that the shoe is on the other foot. Mr. Ross is hosting a fundraiser for the incumbent Democratic President who is running for a second term. This President has enacted policies have not gone over well with conservative and right wing Americans. The backlash comes from the right and not the left.

The problem in the United States these days, at least from a political angle is that we are so divided that we are not listening to the other side. Anyone in any relationship, romantic or otherwise, would say that the first step in repairing a fractured relationship is to listen. Until we start listening to other side, this country will never be able to heal.

Throwback Thursday-The Bachelor/The Bachelorette (2002/2003-Present)

Every television genre has their iconic programs. These shows symbolize the genre, regardless of whether or not the specific viewer is a fan of those shows.

Among reality shows, The Bachelor/The Bachelorette (2002/2003-present) is an iconic behemoth that has been on the air for nearly twenty years. The premise of the both shows is simple. At the center of the show is a single man or woman. During the first episode, the self titled bachelor or bachelorette is introduced to a group of singles. As the series moves on, the number of contestants vying for the heart and the hand of the man or woman is whittled down to two potential partners. He or she must then decide whom they want to spend their life with.

I usually have a high tolerance for reality television. I know it’s fake and as produced as any fictional television program. But there is still some enjoyment to be had as a viewer. However, when it comes The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, this is one show that I cannot stand and refuse to watch. As far as I am concerned, it is pretty people falling in love for the cameras and for the sake of ratings.

Do I recommend it? Not at all.

I Have a Mental Illness, I Didn’t Shoot Anyone Yesterday

This past weekend, as we all know, was one of the bloodiest in American history. Two mass shootings killed 31 people (as of Tuesday) and injured many more. One of the first questions that many ask is why this happened.

Some may state that the accused shooter was mentally ill.

I, like millions of others around the world am mentally ill. It has been my unwanted companion for far too long. I have yet to (and it is unlikely that I ever will) purchase a gun for the sole purpose of killing innocent people.

I wish our leaders would stop pointing fingers and ask the hard questions. At this point, as a nation, experienced too many mass shootings to point fingers at outside influences. That is taking the easy way out.

Video games are not the cause of mass shootings. Neither are the Internet or mental illness. It is our lax gun laws that cause mass shootings. It is the NRA and the gun lobby who have some of our politicians in their back pocket.

We need the red flag law and the universal background checks installed and enforced as national law now. We needed to tighten up our gun laws yesterday.

I feel like right now, this nation is at a turning point. We can continue on the same path that we have been going on and lose more innocent lives. Or, we can finally take a stand and ensure that this generation does not become the generation that is killed by mass shootings.

Only then will this madness finally stop.