The Last Airbender and Midland: One Degree of Separation
I was sitting around having beers with some friends the other night, when the usual conversational topics of music and movies were raised. As we talked about what albums and films we'd consumed lately (and whether or not we had liked them), my buddy Ryan mentioned that a former Midlander, a twenty-something named Jackson Rathbone, has a starring role in the new M. Night Shyamalan film The Last Airbender, currently playing in theaters.
The more I thought about it, the more the name Rathbone sounded familiar to me for some reason. So I went to IMDB and looked up Jackson Rathbone's bio. That's when I made the connection: Monroe Jackson Rathbone (the actor's full name) is one of the teens who got arrested back in 2002 here in Midland for setting another kid on fire and videotaping it in trying to emulate the old MTV series, Jackass.
From Wikipedia:
2002 arrest in 'Jackass'-style teen burning stuntIn July 2002, Rathbone, along with two other teenagers, was arrested in Midland, Texas on assault charges for allegedly dousing then 17 year-old Jonathan Perry with lighter fluid and setting him ablaze in a stunt intended to replicate the MTV television series, 'Jackass' [16]. According to reports in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Perry was a willing participant in the stunt and sustained 3rd-degree burns to 60 percent of his body [17]. Rathbone and the other teens videotaped Perry as he burned. Perry survived, but was horribly disfigured.
In October of that year, a Midland County (TX) Grand Jury declined to indict Rathbone and the other teens, Eva Marie Cedillo and Casey Tim Owens. It was reported that Perry specifically requested to the court that no criminal charges be pursued. [18]
It certainly is a small world, and an ironic one at that. Here I've been, diligently paying attention to my karma for the past 30 years in an effort to bring good things my way, and meanwhile one of Midland's infamous "Jackass" pack ends up a movie star.
Hmm, maybe I've been doing things all wrong. Perhaps if I drown a few puppies and beat up an old lady or two, I'll finally get that spot on World Series of Poker I've been lusting for.
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5 Comments
Well, in the young Rathbone's defense, let's hope he's grown up and acquired some character in the past seven and a half years. Though I'd imagine it's tough for already rich kids who end up in Hollywood to develop any real sense of reality.
Tough. But not impossible.
Fingers crossed.
fuck u all. jackson is a amazing guy and even he said he was a lost boy when he was a teenager. it was 8 yrs ago and he has grown up a lot since then. the guy who gt burned shouldnt hav volutiered himself to get BURNT!!
i will love jackson forever because to me he is one of the most amazing people alive
Glad to see you back, Vaughn.
It's a bitch, isn't it, to be responsible?
I knew that things were headed this way when the words "notorious" and "famous" suddenly meant the same thing. Back a quarter century ago, you didn't want to be notorious. That was a bad thing. Now any attention is good.