Have you ever noticed that Mickey and Felix look strikingly similar? There is an urban legend that centers around the idea that Felix was actually designed by Walt Disney &co and was promptly stolen by another animator when animation was the newest hottest thing. Disney was paranoid after that.Everyone knows how protective Disney is regarding Mickey and his pals. Supposedly, this is due to the phenomenon of the burnt child effect. Once a child burns himself, he is likely to have a deep fear from whatever caused him such pain. Like a childhood trauma that leads to phobia, this child will tremble if he is near an active stove top. Maybe Disney once trusted in the intrinsic good nature of his fellow men and now, once that trust had been betrayed by the nefarious animator who allegedly pilfered Felix, the Disney Company will take whatever measures necessary to prevent such a theft from happening again.
Right, but what does this have to do with poetry? The art world is rife with such knavery. People steal and pass off what they have stolen as their own. My former best friend, a person I trusted, has done it to me after he ridiculed the very ideas he is now claiming are his. It's hard not to be paranoid when you are stolen from. Once your car has been broken into, you'll circle blocks as many times as it takes to find a "safe" parking spot.
Filthy people. They abound. There is no way to avoid them I suppose, except to develop thicker callouses. But I don't want callouses. Callouses are ugly.
