Hope In a Sea of Scumbagz – Pigz Radio Podcast

Rich Vreede of Black Cat was “allegedly” (don’t you love that word?) going on the popular LA radio podcast PigzRadio.com to tell “his side of the story” and “set the record straight” about the Bernie Madoff style ponzi scheme he was able to pull off at the Valentine’s Ball 2012 at the Mayan a couple of weeks ago. Missed it? READ IT HERE! or watch the video of the aftermath below:

Surprise, surprise… he cancelled at the last minute, leaving yet another entity hanging in the wake of his bad karmic energy. So much stuff has come out about Vreede and Black Cat over the last few days, that I’m beginning to doubt my own long held philosophy that “most people are inherently good’ if given a chance.

I’m not so sure anymore. And while Rich’s crimes don’t compare to the mass murderers, sex offenders, etc. it does make one wonder about the human condition of a person who, according to one of the comments we recently received, has been lying and ripping people off for going on at least 10 years now.

An “allegedly” perpetually unemployed guy in his 40s who still lives with his parents would, in the past, make me question what tragedy had befallen him earlier in life that he seemingly couldn’t overcome. I’d usually ponder what if anything I could personally do to help jolt him out of it and become a normal, semi productive human being.

But now, I view that same person through a set of eyes that basically thinks he may well be part of the 5-10% of human beings that are scum; that are somehow allowed to be born into this planet simply, it seems to drag the rest of us down with their shortcomings, weaknesses and failures and there is no hope for them but try and limit the amount of misery they can cause.

For mass murderers and sexual predators, we throw them in jail when possible (and hope they don’t strike anyone close to our family or friends).  In the case of Rich Vreede of Black Cat Entertainment, I’m not 100% convinced he has nothing positive at all to offer our human condition just yet. I still have hope for the guy…but it’s rapidly fading.

I don’t know him well enough (obviously or I would have never gotten involved with him) to jump to any firm conclusions. But I do know the evidence is pointing to a cowardly, selfish and partially formed soul who doesn’t seem to be able to do anything beyond trick people into somehow giving him enough money to continue his illusory path. Perhaps  he looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a pathetic picture of failure but a victim, who can’t understand why everyone turns on him and picks on him.

Picking on people is not my thing. As a kid I was always the guy befriending the poor picked on “loser” at the playground. I didn’t mind using my relative popularity to keep people from mercilessly picking on some poor hapless soul who was  not quiet right.

Valentine's Ball Band "Evil Devil" with Rich Vreede (Striped Shirt, Far Right)

Some of these kids grew out of their awkward years and I bet you can find many of them playing in punk bands today or perhaps being famous writers, musicians, artists, etc. We all know the stories of tortured souls who overcame and it is inspiring to tell a kid, hey things “will get better”.

But what about the others, the others that ended up dead or still one that I remember well, who ended up in jail. Later in life as a young adult he torched a house full of people he had somehow managed to trap and left them there to burn a terrible death. I knew that “loser” as a teenager and tried to befriend him but in the end and there was nothing I could do to help him. He was an idiot and a lost cause from the start.

A waste of time and a waste of humanity who was not content to limit his damaged view of world to himself, he had to drag others into his vortex of misery (think of not only the victims but the victims’ families and their potential scores of  descendents who weren’t even born). You can practically hear the misery reverberating through the next few centuries on that one.

Where does Rich of Black Cat rank in this amalgam of shi&*y scumbags that make up the lowest of the low that humanity has to offer? You can’t rank him down there with war criminals, mass murderers and child molesters.  Can you even rank him down there with people like Bernie Madoff or the greedy pigs that caused the financial crises? In terms of misery, probably not.

Rich’s misery index is not as widespread or as devastating, but maybe that’s simply because he isn’t as smart or motivated as these folks.

Maybe if he had the intelligence and motivation of these guys that is exactly the kind of misery he’d be inflicting on the planet. Or maybe, just maybe, he’s not in that caliber altogether. I hope not.

Maybe he’s not a lost cause, maybe he will recognize that he’s not a victim, but simply a fraudulent misery maven who’s only hope is to change his entire outlook on life, get a job, pay back his victims and try to make amends in the future.

He’s in his 40s.. he’s probably at least half way through his life. Mortality is there, staring him in the face, just like it is you and I.

I know what I want to do. I want to somehow make this place a little bit better than when I came into it before I leave. I think most people think that way as they age even if we don’t always succeed, it’s something we can aspire to.

I wonder what it is that Rich thinks? Does he even get that broad minded, big picture or is he like, so greedy and shady that his deepest thought is how he can scam a free dinner or a free beer from somebody tonight?

The pigz radio guys carried on with their show without Rich quiet hilariously. One of the many hidden blessings among all this Black Cat / Rich Vreede mess is that it turned me on to this very entertaining and very funny radio podcast which broadcast live every Sunday 1-2pm west coast time (4-5pm east coast).

Check out their podcast HERE! It is truly an entertaining listen and if you catch them live you can call in with your stories about how Rich or another scumbag promoter ripped you off or whatever the topic of the day may be.

Remember to keep checking ScumbagPromoter.com for the latest on the Rich Vreede / Black Cat Entertainment saga and on all dishonest promoters. Report them, out them, boycott their shows and shut them down.Thanks to everyone that has responded so far. I said it before and I’ll say it again… We are just getting started.

STAY TUNED: This week on PUNK OUTLAW – Coverage from Youth Brigade concert as they plays Weber’s Bar in Receda, CA, this Friday night, plus our buddies from Medellin, Colombia – Lokekeda release a new music video and more.