THE SORE LOSER FILES

“I Coulda Been a Contender”

Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront”

Hey, guys. See what I did in my subtitle? I credited the quote I used in my title. That’s called being legit. Or, doing what’s right. Take your pick. And, I credited the image. Yes, that’s a thing! Or, is supposed to be.

Lately, it would appear that many writers here, and even Medium itself, don’t give a damn about doing what’s right. But, I’m still sufficiently naive to believe that there is power in numbers, and, if enough people get tired of the bullshit, who knows what could ensue?

By the way, for the uninitiated among you, you gotta see this film. That’s all I’m going to say. Just see it.

Actually, I can relate to Brando’s iconic character. If the whole thing wasn’t a sham, I believe I “coulda been a contender” in the MWC, instead of a fucking sore loser. “Which is what I am, let’s face it.”

Instead, I got a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

But, I have to admit that I’m enjoying this bit of rabble-rousing. I’m enjoying stirring up the pot, but not just for me, for all of us, because in spite of the fact that many of the ignored and rejected writers in the MWC have taken it on the chin, I can’t be the only sore loser here, can I?

Each day that passes, and the more bullshit I discover about the “winning” stories — namely, the reality that so many are stinkers — the better I feel. I’m enjoying myself, and shouldn’t we writers enjoy ourselves? At the very least?

I mean, one of my favorite, albeit dead, film critics, Pauline Kael, no doubt enjoyed herself when skewering cinematic ca-ca. And she did it so well. So, think of me as someone who is trying to channel the late, great Kael and call out the ca-ca I see (and smell), here.

You already know that the Big Money story, the one from the writer who signed up to enter the challenge, or was invited to sign up, violated Medium rules by using an uncredited, copyrighted image. From Shutterstock, as another writer here pointed out. And then, “poof!” When people started to bitch about it, Medium swapped it out and included the proper accreditation.

Gee. I wonder if they’d do that for me?

Here are Medium’s own rules regarding the above.

Copyright and trademark infringement Respect the copyrights and trademarks of others. Per our Terms of Service, we require users to have permission to post the content they publish on Medium. Additionally, we have specific policies around plagiarism, to which all Medium accounts are held. Users found in violation of our copyright rules are not eligible for appeal or restoration.

We respond to notices of alleged infringement as described in our Terms of Service, Copyright and DMCA Policy, and Trademark Policy.

Now, it’s painfully obvious that some writers here are above the rules. Today, another writer on this platform alerted me to a story by one of the top-earning tripe-spewers. The one with the bootlicking, fawning readers who fall for any self-pitying crap she puts down.

The One Who Shall Go Unnamed. But you know who I’m talking about. And I won’t name her because that goes against this platform’s mandates. I’ll let other people do that.

This individual wrote a story tearing the ass out of some pastor for the way he views married sex or something like that. I couldn’t read it through because anything this faker writes makes me want to puke. Why she launched a vendetta against the guy is anyone’s guess. But I read enough to see that it was borderline harassment, which is again, against Medium policy.

Not having perused this professional victim’s story, I don’t know whether the guy deserved it or not, nor do I care. But, here’s where she stepped over the line, and not for the first time.

She used the guy’s personal Facebook photo for her lead image!

So let me see if I got this right. For whatever reason in my feverish little brain, I think you suck. Ergo, I’m going to write and publish a story, telling my thousands of clueless minions that, well…I think you suck.

And, as an added fillip on an already steaming pile of turds, I use a photo from your Facebook page. An obviously personal, family photo, for my lead image.

What’s wrong with this picture? Everything! And, is it published on Medium as I write this? You betcha. They know who their cash cows are.

Here’s just one of many sage comments in her piece:

“At this point, I have to assume they simply don’t care that these are the same ludicrous statements that enable so many Christian men to rape and abuse women.”

Huh. I wasn’t aware that it was just “Christian men” who rape and abuse women. (Hey. Don’t they rape and abuse men, too?)

What twaddle!

Again, I don’t know what this guy allegedly did or didn’t do, but is it really permissible to post this kind of potentially slanderous content, here?

From what I understand the writer received a slap on the wrist a month or so ago, for publicly shitting on two male writers, also cash cows, who didn’t want to pony up for her crowdfunding endeavor. One eventually caved (a pussy move) and the other held his ground.

Could it be the writer has a beef with…men?

Huh.

Anyway, my point is that the rules on this platform are to be broken by the anointed. Those writers who make a fuck-ton of money for the people behind the curtain. Obviously, I am not one of them. And if you’re reading me, I doubt that you are, either.

I’ve said my piece. For now, as it appears that nothing is as it seems, other than “sketchy.”

Here’s a proposal, my fellow, would-be contenders. I’ll watch your back if you watch mine.

If you can handle it, read every one of my stories and those of other fab Medium writers. I’ll get a couple of shekels and you’ll have full access to this whole joint! https://sherrymcguinn.medium.com/membership

Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. She is currently pitching her newest screenplay, “The Month We Fell Apart,” a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story, as well as “DEAD TIRED,” a female-driven, ass-kicking thriller.

Thanks for reading, guys. If you enjoyed this, I’d love for you to check out the following, as well as my newsletter, Sherry Raw.