Gonzo-19: The fear of being a pandemic sex worker during lockdown and the loathing of Mark Wahlberg’s role as Dirk Diggler
On August 18, 2021, I set out on a journey interviewing sex workers in Las Vegas. My name is Bradley J. Burt and am a senior university journalism major at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater reinventing the wheel with a new style of newsgathering.
My class project delves into the mind of a disabled veteran student, who served with the 10th Mountain Division, utilizing Gonzo journalism for mindfulness journaling and grounding in times of fear.
Gonzo-19 is my five-year reflection walking the beat between Fremont St. down Las Vegas Blvd. developing journalism skills while overcoming the fear of traveling alone as a multimedia journalist.
The walk started out from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio in 2017, which grew to a full walk from Fremont St. to the Las Vegas sign stopping and visiting the non-essential, which was a title handed down by the Trump Administration.
The walk connected me with divine love, which brought advocacy to the surface upon realizing the demeaning of sex workers during interviews, who just want to feel loved.
The Trump Administration created the Jaded Patriot Press. The term “non-essential” is the examination of being considered a Jaded Patriot.
Gonzo-19 is the reflection.
The Gonzo-19 story kicked into high gear after being rejected by the Strat for not having my driver’s license upon check in, that led to the panic of being stuck in Las Vegas in the December cold.
The trip birthed the creation of a pandemic reporting service in Las Vegas.
The Jaded Patriot Press publishes stories about those who feel disenfranchised by the federal government.
America stands divided between the value of those who could work and those who were forced to stay home when COVID-19 swept the across the nation in March of 2020.
By 2022, I overcame my fear and started engaging in documentary vox pop, man-on-the-street, interviewing, which was the biggest obstacle needed to overcome.
The last walk home connected with the homeless, and the non-essential workers like showgirls and street performers, revealing the federal government’s disenfranchisement of independent contractors of
Nevada.
The pandemic neglect by the federal government hurt the pocketbook, leaving those who went without the access to stimulus funds in a constant state of fear, which led to loathing regarding their means for collective resources for the lock down.
The next phase examines two variables. The contrast between the role of being labelled non-essential and Mark Wahlberg’s loathing as Dirk Diggler, who played the role of a porn star in the ’80s. Sex workers and porn stars receive horrible treatment, who are oftentimes viewed as second rate disposable humans.
The purpose of the Gonzo-19 story reveals through investigation the mismanagement of human lives in Nevada and the ongoing grief sex workers face, who receive inhumane treatment. From Parhump to Las Vegas, Nevada, the state is the only in the union who legalized both Cannabis recreational use and prostitution.
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas is an experience that cannot be expressed through the viewpoint of one visit. One would have to go deep cover to uncover the truth.
The pen name Robert Cobert was used for protective purposes, which was developed through the Center for Entrepreneurship at Madison College.
All perspectives walk over 100 miles in Dr. Hunter S. Thompson’s shoes.
Gonzo-19 is an interactive monumentary converging url hyperlinked sources with firsthand reporting from the scene during the investigation. The project is trademarked protected as intellectual property through Outpost 422.
Bradley Burt
Bradley J. Burt serves the Dane County community as an American Legion Dane County Service Officer. Burt assists those in crisis with his multimedia reporter service as a blogger to distribute virtual information at his Social Media Writing final project called "Outpost 422." Burt returned as a Wisconsin State Certified Journey worker after finding out he could receive 39 credits for his journey worker certificate. The Technical Studies Journey Worker Associate's Degree helped him transfer to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he received a waiver. The waiver allowed him to pursue the field of journalism bypassing general education requirements. In 2014, Burt uncovered information about the Wisconsin G.I. Bill as a Veterans Committee Chairperson. Burt joined the American Legion to investigate benefits further. After being elected to Service Officer in 2015, Burt began noticing college benefit opportunities in Wisconsin. In 2017, Burt left his job due to physical limitations from his military service-connected injuries. The Wisconsin G.I. Bill became his life preserver. Burt returned to school to survive unemployability while waiting in appeal for VA benefit denial. Being a Service Officer taught him how to find resources to survive appeal. After interviewing Sgt. Gary Brynjulfson from "The Reflections of Vietnam" and reading Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," Burt decided to develop a therapeutic writing style to help him cope with anxiety. Outpost 422 developed and journalism became his pursuit. Burt works as an American Legion Service Officer who is surviving by going back to school and writing about his college experience. Burt's portfolio is his passion to pay forward to the next struggling veteran to offer avenues of hope to encourage veterans to try going back to school no matter where they are in life.