LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
They say that hindsight is 20:20. That may or may not be true but I can confirm that hindsight is certainly not 20:420.
As a member of the human race, I have long thought myself important and thus through due diligence do I make my appearance a tangible reflection of my personality. Much in the same way Nelson Mandela, Christian Bale, or Banksy might do; put simply, I do not alter myself in the face of any institution, man, or God.
However, even I can admit in hindsight, wearing a cannabis leaf hat to court was not that smart of me, all things considered.
Yes, at the time, it seemed like it was entirely appropriate for me, a person on trial for fraud after a botched music festival (which for the record got nowhere near the recognition it deserved, especially after everyone frothed over Fyre Festival) to dress as I please.
An ironic Balenciaga cap with a deconstruction of drug counterculture is on brand for me, just as it was on brand for my particular judge to make an example out of me for “not treating court seriously.”
It is worth noting that if we don’t allow hatted drug iconography, what else will we not allow in the courtroom? Yawning loud whenever the judge talks to you? Demanding you swear your oath on a Pusha T vinyl? Paying your lawyer with VIP passes to your next festival? Because I tried them all and from what I can tell they all seem to have gone the way of the Dodo.
Although the ‘judge’ swears that I was to be incarcerated for misleading shareholders, deep down I know it was my modern day Keroac resistance to the norm that manifested itself in an almost religious fashion statement that is why I type this article from a prison cell today.
As it turns out, men in silly little wigs think it is inappropriate for me to wear a cap with a plant on it and the other men in my block think it’s ridiculous for me to spend this much of my free time writing this article when other people need to use the computer.
Yes, hindsight is 20:20, which is how old my kids will be when I’m finally released.
